Love of a Drell
by IAmElvie
Summary: A story depicting the romance between Kolyat Krios and Commander Shepard, spanning ME2-ME3 and possibly beyond. This is rated M for language and sexual content. Please note I'm not a writer, editor, or English major - there will be mistakes. It will not always follow the canon game. There will be spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

The Love of a Drell

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 1

The Night before Ilos

Shepard paced the small confines of her cabin, filled with urgency, dread, frustration, guilt, and many more emotions she'd rather not look to closely at. They were heading to Ilos tomorrow. An impossible feat she had to accomplish and it had set her on edge. Then Kaidan, whom she'd been flirting with on and off for some time, had come by her cabin professing love and wanting to take their relationship to a deeper level.

She liked him well enough, and might have even considered the prospect herself, if another hadn't caught her eye. She was being drawn in a different direction…a direction that was not reciprocated. A direction that had no future; yet, she was helpless against the pull and had been from the moment she met him.

Flirting with Kaidan had at first been due to honest interest, but eventually become more of a fun, harmless way to relieve tension. Or so she thought. She had not taken into account his growing feelings; hadn't even noticed things had changed between them. His visit tonight had caught her off guard. She had been sorting through the ramifications of getting to Ilos and her growing attraction to a man who had her firmly placed in the _friend zone_. When she finally understood just what Kaidan had come for, she had to turn him away. She could see the confusion and hurt that he was trying to hide under a veneer of gentlemanly manners as he left her cabin. Guilt had been added to her emotional upheaval.

Guilt. Great. That was all she needed. It was her fault, she knew that, but it only made the pill harder to swallow. She had to relax before she did something she would regret. She hung her head wearily and headed to the bathroom for a hot, steamy shower. Wishing, not for the first time, they had installed a bathtub instead.

She toweled off and stepped into a black silk and lace teddy and lace French cut panties that only covered half of her bottom. She may have to don the commander mask and man up all day, but the nights belonged to her, she could let her hair down and revel in her femininity. It was her guilty secret. A secret she kept close to her heart. One of _many_ secrets kept close to her heart.

She dimmed the lighting, grabbed a bottle of wine, a glass, and her e-pad and curled up on the sofa for a bit of light reading. Eventually she realized she'd read the same paragraph 8 times in a row and still didn't know what it said. She tossed the pad down, absently drank wine, and began to pace her cabin again. She wasn't tired. She couldn't sleep. She missed Garrus. Kaidan had been staying up later, so Garrus hadn't been able to come by as often lately. She was restless, anxious, and romantically frustrated. This was silly. She was a grown woman; a confident woman. She tossed on the black silk and lace matching wrapper, belted it at the waist (not even realizing it displayed more than it covered), donned some black slippers and headed out the door. She was going to do it. Yes, she was. She was going to head down to the crew quarters off the cargo bay, wake his turian ass up, and she was going to tell Garrus Vakarian just how she felt about him. Maybe he would shoot her down. Maybe he didn't see her in the same light, but didn't she owe it herself…to them both...to see if there might be something more?

She made her way to the lift, balancing precariously as the floor swayed beneath her feet. Bloody wine. She didn't encounter any other night owls prowling the deck. She was relieved. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. She entered the lift and hit the down button. The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the lower deck. As it descended she became more and more nervous. No, she thought, if he was asleep she wouldn't disturb him. Tomorrow was just too damned important. No...no...no…tonight was all wrong. What was she thinking? Could her timing be any worse? If they survived Ilos she would talk to him.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop. She placed her hand on the door and rested her head against it. So close. So far away. She dropped her hand, backed away and hit the up button. The door slid down as it opened and in walked the man she'd be obsessing over. He had on a dark green and tan outfit. His waist was so slender. What would it be like to wrap her legs around it? Her face flamed at where her thoughts were going.

As he entered the lift he turned to hit the up button and realized he was not alone. He hadn't expected anyone else to be up at this hour…and spirits…his mouth dropped open in surprise, mandibles flaring. There stood his Shepard in the smallest most revealing black outfit he'd ever seen. He had seen her in her under things a time or two…but this was all lace…a very see through lace. So much soft, white, human skin was exposed. If the lace shifted just a little bit he suspected he just might blush as hard as she was right now. By the looks of her she must not have expected to run into anyone either.

"Shepard, I…" he cleared his throat…"I wasn't expecting to see you…er, anybody. I couldn't sleep. I just...um..." he cleared his throat again… "finished up some last minute calibrations on the Mako. I was …ah…hmm...just heading to the lounge to…a…relax before heading to…er…bed." He said, his voice cracking over the last word. His eyes wandered all around the elevator, looking everywhere except where he wanted to look the most. He tried so hard to ignore what his commander was wearing, but spirits…he wasn't dead.

He'd been drawn to this fiery woman since he'd first seen her walking towards him outside the council chambers. He'd been arguing with Executor Pallin and getting nowhere. He had recognized her right away. She was famous; he knew he had been suffering from a bit of hero worship back then. But, who could blame him? This was _the_ Commander Shepard. He knew even then that it went beyond hero worship, though he hadn't admitted it to himself until sometime later. The fact that he was drawn to her had disturbed him for a long time. He was a turian soldier, she was a human. End of story.

As the months had worn on, under her tutelage, hero worship became a great respect. She had helped him grow…to become more than he was, more than he thought he could ever be. She had become a central fixture in his life. A life he couldn't comprehend without her. He found himself growing more and more protective of her and he knew she was becoming more and more dependent on him. He went with her on nearly every mission… on the rare ones where he was left behind he knew he acted crazy, pacing and snarling at anyone who ventured by; the crew fastidiously avoided him at those times, so much so he would have to hunt someone down to vent on them…and spirits forbid if she came back with so much as a scratch.

Shepard and he were a team…a well oiled machine…moving together as one. They knew what the other would do before it was done and react accordingly. What they had was special. An unbreakable bond forged in blood and sweat, in victory and fear, in close calls and desperate measures. No matter the mission, the only goal he had was to keep her safe. Nothing else mattered. Nobody else could protect her like he could. Nobody ever would. And, nobody better EVER come between them.

He knew he loved her just as he knew he shouldn't; his head and heart constantly warring over the right and wrong of it all. Failed turian soldier, failed c-sec officer…what right did he have to even think of this woman…This very _human_ woman, who had never even given him the barest hint that she saw him as a man. And, how could she? He was well aware his race was not considered attractive by a majority of the other races. But that was ok… it was better this way. She was his commander…he was turian…he would respect what that meant, it was how all turians are trained…he sighed…at times like this he wished he was a better turian.

"Garrus." She said breathlessly. Was it hot in here? The elevator had never seemed so small before. "I'm glad you're awake." What she said was, "I was hoping someone was," what she really meant was: I was hoping _you_ were. "I was so edgy, I couldn't go to sleep. I miss our evenings together. Mind if I join you for a night cap in the lounge before I turn in? Of course, if you prefer to be alone I understand."

"No, Shepard, I'd be..ah..hmm…grateful for the company." As they rode in silence his eyes kept traveling to the barely clad woman at his side. For every inch exposed he wanted to see another. He had never seen a naked human woman…never wanted to…well , except for this woman next to him, truth be told…and _that_ he certainly never expected to happen. He knew his place. This would certainly be a test of his turian fortitude, he mused as he followed a half naked Shepard out of the elevator.

As they entered the starboard lounge, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a turian brandy and her some asari rosewine. He handed her the glass and settled on the sofa facing the large window, resting his arm on the sofa's arm, gently twirling the dark amber liquid. She settled in against his side, just like old times, only there was no book or vid to occupy them…just the dark of space and the randomly winking stars. He put his other arm around her and she snuggled in. If she had a clue what this did to him she'd probably freak.

She was staring raptly out the window, sipping her wine, so he took a moment to look at her while she was occupied. Her long legs, which she had tucked in were exposed nearly to the hip. The slim fabric had slid up when she laid against him. The deep lacey "v" of the outfit went to her navel. But, it had shifted and her breast lay exposed through the lace, its peak tight and hard. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned his head forward so that he too was looking at the stars. "So beautiful." He said thickly, though he wasn't thinking of stars at all.

"Yes," she sighed. "And so very peaceful looking. I wish it could be like this always." Her words fading into silence…followed by a light snore…

Garrus closed his eyes and his mandibles spread in a smile. His Shepard could fall asleep anywhere. He looked down at the woman that he loved and a sense of peace filled him. "So do I," he whispered. He placed his empty brandy glass on the table, gently removed her glass from her hand and placed it next to his. He gathered her up in his arms, adjusting her slightly to the side so his carapace didn't dig into her, held her closely to his heart and headed for her cabin.

He had tucked her in countless times. This time shouldn't be different, but it was. She was all but naked in his arms. He had seen her breast, yearned to touch it, to feel its softness. His desire for this woman right now overwhelmed him, nearly brought him to his knees.

He entered her cabin, laid her gently on the bed and pulled the covers up to her waste. He noticed the "v" had parted even further, completely baring one breast to his hungry gaze. He had to touch her; just once. He removed his thin glove, his taloned fingers hovering just over the heat of her breast. He slowly touched the white globe, feeling its softness, running his thumb pad gently over its peak and he watched in wonder as it hardened and puckered. She moaned and moved into his hand. He closed his eyes tightly, shaking with need, fighting the urge to wake her up and make love to her. Every part of him screamed to take her. To make her his. His eyes shifted focus, his control slipped, he could feel something pushing to get out and it turned him cold with fear. He pulled the covers up to her chin and slipped out of her room at a near run. Nobody would hurt his Shepard…not even him.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 2

Ilos

The dawning of a new day brought no relief to Garrus. What had happened and what had nearly happened last night was unforgivable. He was a turian, she his commander... and she was the only true friend he had in this screwed up galaxy. She had put her faith and trust in him and he had failed her on the deepest level. His only saving grace is that she wouldn't know - though that, too, made him feel dirty. He didn't know what came over him last night, but he would make damned sure it didn't happen again. He was turian. Period. He would control it…even if he had to shove a stick so far up his ass that he could use it for a toothpick.

He stopped pacing the cargo bay and returned to work on the mako. It would have to be in top shape for their mission today.

Shepard snuggled under the warm blankets and buried her head. She did not want to get out of bed. To do so meant the day would actually begin…and today was going to be a doozy. She sighed wearily, sat up, tossed the covers off and gingerly touched her feet to the warmed floor. Bliss…Being the CO did have some benefits… climate-controlled flooring was a godsend.

She looked down at her black lacy teddy. Oh stars had she actually prowled the decks last night dressed like this? Garrus! Bloody hell…she had been obsessing over him last night. Did she do anything? Did she embarrass both of them? Pictures…disjointed…blurry flooded her mind. She saw his face…she saw stars…she saw herself looking up at him at an odd angle…was he carrying her? That must be how she got to bed. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd put her to bed…though never clothed like this…what must he think of her? Why couldn't the pictures ever be more coherent? It was like looking at bits and pieces of somebody else's memories, even if they were hers. Of course, being drunk off her ass probably hadn't helped. She was, however, very thankful she never suffered from hangovers. She knew that was a sore spot with her crew, so she made sure she rubbed it in as often as she could.

She really had not wanted to wake up. She'd been dreaming of her and Garrus together…making love. Unfortunately, the dream had been no more coherent than the pictures of last night. She didn't know what a turian looked like naked…did they have an external penis similar to that of a human? Did they have a cloaca and internal hemipenes that only came out for breeding? Or…God forbid… just a vent that released sperm? Perhaps she should research turian anatomy on the extranet…a far sight less embarrassing than asking Garrus...she could almost see his mandibles dropping, his mouth gaping open. She wondered if turians could blush. Probably not…she sighed…should she ask him? More importantly…could she ask him? She'd probably be too mortified to enjoy the hilarity of the moment. Either way, at least if…when…she dreamed of him again the blanks could be filled in.

She slipped out of her teddy and headed for the shower…let the day begin.

She donned her commander mask with her armor and headed for the Cargo Bay. She only had a few minutes to decide who to take with her. She had decided last night to take Tali and Garrus…Tali was the best at handling geth…but she was squishy. She always felt guilty when she brought her along. A small suit rupture and…she shook her head. Best course of action was always to let them show her who to take. Relying on judgment alone usually led to disaster… Not that disaster didn't happen either way. The best squaddies for a particular mission didn't mean they would find success, it just meant they were more likely to.

As she walked into the cargo bay her team lined up, as was custom, to find out who would be going with her. She looked over each member of her team, their auras shining like a multi-colored rainbow. She glanced at Kaidan and dismissed him right away, his normal bright blue aura was dull – one look into his eyes and she knew he was still hurt over having his romantic overtures dismissed last night. She knew it had taken a lot for him to come to her, to overcome his hang-ups about her being his commander. She wished she could feel for him what he felt for her; it would make things so much simpler.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to Garrus. His blue-green aura shined like a beacon. The blues and greens rolling together, like a beautiful sea. Wrex's orange-reddish aura was glowing like the fire it resembled. That settled things. They would be her team. Auras didn't lie.

"Wrex, Garrus…gear up, we move out in 10." After dismissing the team she headed over to where Garrus was getting ready.

"I wanted to thank you for…everything last night. You are always there for me. I appreciate it." She told him, nodding at him, keeping firm hold on her commander mask.

"That's what I'm here for, Shepard…personal body guard and valet at your service." He saw her mask start to slip and he knew his words must have hurt her. He was trying to play it cool, trying not to see her naked in his arms… trying to see her as Commander Shepard, best friend and confidant. But he also knew she needed his understanding right now. "Look, Shepard, you don't have to thank me for that. Not ever. I will always be there for you when you need me. I will always look out for you. You know that. Now, let's go kick some geth ass."

He tamped down on the growing need within him as he watched her walk away. He didn't like this out of control feeling, the desperation that clawed at him. It was like a beast wanting to rip its way out of him…he wasn't too sure how long he would be able to hold the beast at bay, and that worry settled in his gut like a cold stone. He was terrified. It was the one thing in his life he couldn't share with her, because she was the focus of it. He would control it. He had to. The alternative was unthinkable.

Relief flooded her when they'd made the impossible precision drop without incident. She owed joker a bottle of Thessia Red for that drop.

They hopped out of the mako in time to see Saren and his geth followers disappear behind the doors in front of them. Shit! They'd have to find another way in.

She looked at both her team mates, who were looking at her expectantly. They knew she always kissed a team mate for good luck before starting off on a mission. It was just another one of those eccentricities from their illustrious commander. They knew she meant nothing more by it…it was just a platonic peck, but they had come to expect it and believe in it themselves. Occasionally, the crew ribbed her about it, affectionately calling her Captain Kiss. It sounded like the title of a cheesy romance novel, but she accepted it good naturedly and was known to joke about it herself. Captain Kiss indeed…you ain't got nothing on me Kirk...she chided herself.

She turned her attention to her squaddies. Both of their auras burned bright, but Garrus' shone brighter. She knew he should be who she sought for the good luck kiss, but she also knew she couldn't do it. Not after last night, not after the dream. Commander mask or not, she wasn't too sure she could stop with just a peck. She turned and headed for Wrex. Everything inside her screamed at the wrongness. She was disrespecting her system and she hoped there would be no blowback.

Wrex grabbed her up in his arms. "Come to papa." He said and made a big show of the little kiss she'd placed on his jutting lower lip.

"Wrex, you're incorrigible!" She admonished. "Now put me down."

Wrex chuckled and hugged her tighter. He could see the anger flash in the turian's eyes and was wondering just how far he could push his friend. He released Shepard when Garrus went for his gun. Interesting, Wrex thought to himself. Very interesting indeed.

Wrex walked over to Garrus and cuffed him on the side of the arm. "Better luck next time, Garrus. She just needed some krogan superiority today." He roared out a laugh and followed the commander. A glaring Garrus bringing up the rear.

Resistance had been very light and her internal lootdar was going crazy and she was picking up all kinds of goodies. Sometimes she liked being herself…sometimes not so much. This was one of those "like" times. She loved her treasure hunts…or treasure finds would be more accurate. There was really little to no hunting involved. The team was always surprised by her uncanny ability to root out credits and loot…it was like they jumped out at her screaming take me I'm yours, which wasn't so very far from the truth.

Plants were growing in a tangle covering everything. Effectively hiding the geth and hampering their progress. Grotesque statues, pillars, and half-crumbled walls were everywhere. The place might have been nice once, barring those freaky statues… but time, erosion, and plant life had taken its toll. She heard the distinctive geth warble and held up a hand up to stop them. She directed them behind nearby cover. She could see a destroyer and some shocktroops round a corner. With snipers ready, she had them go for the shocktroops first. Tali's AI hacking would have come in handy about now, and brought things to an end much quicker she mused. With the shocktroops finally down they could focus on the destroyer. She flung out her hand sending out a wave of power that tossed the destroyer into the air, concentrated gunfire rendering it scrap metal before it hit the ground.

They continued their way south from the courtyard, mopping up any geth they came across. They finally made it to a working elevator which would take them down to the security station so that they could get the doors open for their mako.

They made their way carefully down the long hall and around a curved wall where they ran smack into a couple of large geth juggernauts, and hand full of troopers, rocket troopers, shock troopers, and a huge white geth prime. Damn. This was not going to be easy. She ordered her team to concentrate on the prime. Her biotics weren't going to cut it where the prime was concerned.

While they were covering the prime she focused on the red juggernauts and rocket troopers. She fired a singularity at the troopers followed by a warp bomb, which sent them flying in all directions. Damn that was fun. She rained warp bombs and bullets down on the juggernauts. One of the juggernauts detonated. Such a beautiful sight.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Garrus jump out of cover to snipe an advancing trooper. He hadn't seen the one coming at him from the side. Not on her watch. She amped up her power and charged the oncoming trooper, both her and her biotics slammed into him sending him crashing against a crumbled half-wall, twisted and shattered. She gave Garrus a cocky smile and saluted him. She turned, amped her biotics and charged the remaining juggernaut.

Garrus spun around in time to see her slam into a trooper he hadn't noticed. Damn visor was picking up too many enemies and he was finding it a bit distracting. Damn if she didn't save his ass. He nodded at her as she flashed blue and streaked away. Damn he hated when she did that. He couldn't protect her when she stormed off like that. He watched in horror as the blue streak slammed into the juggernaut and bounced backwards. She had rolled out of the way a few feet from the juggernaut that hadn't budged an inch. She amped blue and charged him again. The juggernaut, normally slow on the move, had grabbed her out of her charge. His mandible dropped, his mouth opened, he roared out her name, broke cover, and ran towards them. Common sense bitch slapped him and he stopped and brought up his sniper. Then she was falling. The headless juggernaut dropped her as it was flung backwards by the impact.

She shook her head as she hit the ground. That thing was tougher than it looked. She thought she had weakened it enough earlier. Guess not so much. That was a little closer than she liked. She looked up to see Garrus coming straight towards her. That would explain the headless condition of the juggernaut. That was when she saw the Prime step away from Wrex, who was continuing to blast bullets into it. It raised its gun and shot a rocket at Garrus. No! She flung out her arm and sent a wave of power at the rocket. It had been flung to the side, but rerouted itself. She cast out another wave at Garrus and tossed him as gently as she could behind a container, the only nearby cover she could find. The rocket rerouted again. It was locked on and she was growing desperate. She flung out a barrier bubble around Garrus, who had begun shooting at the missile, hoping to detonate it before it could reach him. The prime shot out 2 more missiles, both locking onto Garrus. Shit! Shit! Shit! The first rocket detonated several yards from Garrus. Way to go Garrus…Unfortunately, the concussion knocked him to the ground.

She flared up like a beacon, harnessing her power. He looked at her through the bubble and shook his head. He held up a hand telling her to stop. He knew she intended to charge to his side and he knew he couldn't let her. His heart ached at the thought of not being there for her. He staggered to his feet and pulled out his gun, but he was too slow, still stunned from the concussion. The rocket slammed into the barrier and disintegrated it. The concussion flung him to the ground again.

Shepard watched in horror as the barrier bubble exploded. She flung out another bubble towards Garrus and another wave towards the rocket, trying to pull it away again. She wasn't fast enough. She watched her world come crashing down as the rocket slammed into Garrus in a fiery explosion. Her knees buckled. Her stomach heaved. She fell forward onto her hands as her stomach purged itself of what little she'd managed to eat. She was too exhausted. She hadn't been fast enough. She couldn't save him! She couldn't save him! She raged. All this power and she couldn't save him. She couldn't…

Silent tears fell unheeded down her cheeks while she raged out her grief inside. It was all her fault. She'd misjudged the juggernaut. Her fault. Hers. He'd left the protection of cover to save her. She's dropped the ball and he paid the price. It had been her price to pay not his. Why had she listened to him when he called her off? She could have gotten there in time…Maybe…She could have tried. She should have tried. She would rather have died with him than live with this bleak emptiness that threatened to swallow her soul. As grief tore through her she focused all her hatred, her anger, her pain in one direction. Saren.

A cold resolve settle in the pit of her stomach. No, she fumed. No. This is not the way things were going to go down. Not her Garrus. Not on her watch. Not ever. Only one way this ends. She got determinedly to her feet and headed for the geth prime.

She glanced to her right and noticed an activation console and the huddled armature behind it. It had been overgrown with vines and she had been too busy trying to stay alive to be aware of it earlier. God damn it! It might have saved their asses.

To give Wrex credit, the Prime was on its last legs. She knew there wasn't much time left. She amped up and charged the prime. She pulled up at the last moment, right in front of the prime, dropped her barriers, and was flung backwards from the force of the rocket that tore into her chest. Pain ripped through her as the light faded to black. Her last thought was that she should have kissed Garrus. Damn system.

They had just come from the long hall and were huddled behind the curved wall. She looked at Garrus carefully. Her gamble had paid off. And a gamble it had been, for death could have been final. There were no guarantees. This was one of those secrets she kept close to her heart. One she had shared with no one. A secret that made her a freak…but, at this moment she was a very grateful freak. She called this freaky business the "reset". She had discovered it on accident the first time she was killed in action a few years ago. She was never quite certain of the length of time between her death and when the reset occurred. Likely it depended on how badly her body was destroyed and how fast it could heal. But time had reset and she had a do-over. No one had ever been aware of the time dilation but her; no one remembered…but her. No one ever knew the things she saw... The things she lived through... Nor the pain and emotional agony she suffered when a friend went down over and over again because she couldn't figure out how to correct it. At times she wondered how come her mind wasn't a shattered, drooling wreck by now. She shook her head to clear it and held firmly to her commander mask. They didn't have time for her to work through her emotions right now.

She stood straight and marched up to Garrus, grabbed his armor, pulled him down and kissed him. His eyes bored into hers, heat danced across her nerve endings. It was all she could do to tear her away from him. "Trust me when I tell you we need the extra luck." She saw something in his eyes, but he veiled it before she make out what it was. She backed away and took a shaky breath.

She looked at Wrex, then back to Garrus. "I need you both to stay in cover and watch my 6." She said. "There are a lot of geth on the other side of this wall, to include a couple of juggernauts and a prime unit. I need you to focus on me and any geth targeting me while I make a charge for the console on the right hand side. I'll use it to activate an armature to help us fight. Unless a geth is charging you directly, keep your focus on covering my ass and nothing else. I'm going to dart around the room and see if I can discover any more of those consoles. Understood?"

Neither man questioned how their commander could know such details; they were well used to her eccentric and rather mystical ways by now. "Understood," they said.

Garrus felt an odd worry settle into his bones. "Shepard," he said, grabbing her arm before she could walk away. "Be careful. Something feels _off_ about this. I know I tend to expect the worse…but this feels different…" He shook his head and then canted it sideways. "Oh...and when the prime goes down…just remember **I** took the kill shot."

"Yeah, Yeah…enough whining you pyjacks…let's get some killing done" Wrex grumbled, pounding his fists together.

Smooth as silk she thought as they settle back in the mako. Thank you reset. A lot of dead geth, a broken Prothean VI warning of the Reapers, and the archive doors finally unlocked… Saren we are coming for you.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 3

Ilos-Race Against Time

The mako raced down the narrow waterway. Ok, she mused, _raced_ was a little farfetched…it felt like they were racing, but in fact they were going rather slow as maneuverability was being hampered by the water. She ignored the grunts and complaints of her squaddies…always bitching when she drove them anywhere…as if they could do better. Garrus monitored the scanners and systems and Wrex, doing what he did best, was on the guns. They really did make an awesome team…present bitching aside.

She took a corner too wide and rode up the embankment…she looked sheepishly at her glowering companions, who never hesitated giving her a piece of their minds…ignoring their rather colorful remarks about her driving skills…or lack there of, she backed up, and corrected their course…

What appeared to be lifeless stasis pods dotted both sides of the passage way. Poor sots. Garrus pointed out that there were three enemies ahead. Wrex let out a course bark of laughter and blew them out of the water. One rocket had taken out two of them. The mako shook as a rocket detonated against its shields. "Is that all you got?!" Wrex roared as the third rocket trooper was taken down under a rain of bullets. Not very much farther ahead a glowing barrier brought them to a standstill.

The exited the mako warily expecting a trap. When nothing happened, much to Wrex's disappointment, they proceeded through a corridor into an elevator, which had been the only logical way to go unless they wanted to go back the way they had come. When the elevator door opened they made out a console with a glowing apparition, which ended up being a badly damaged Prothean V.I. that had stopped them purposely.

The V.I.'s name was Vigil and it proceeded to tell them of the Protheans, the beacons, the keepers, the Reapers and even that the Citadel, the seat of power both then and now was actually a mass relay used by the Reapers to leave dark space and wipe out galactic civilization! The conduit Saren had been looking for here on Ilos was a back door onto the Citadel and they had run out of time. Vigil gave them a file for the Citadel's Master Control Terminal and removed the barrier.

Once underway again she found herself taking more risks maneuvering the mako. She was quite sure luck rather than talent kept her on course. The path to the conduit was under heavy geth guard. Garrus was yelling out directions and enemy locations, Wrex was blasting everything in sight and a few things that weren't, thanks to Garrus. Shepard was doing everything she could to keep them moving and avoiding as much fire power as possible. The mako could eat rockets like candy…but the damn colossus was the worst…it could strip their shields in no time. Her heart danced when she saw it go down.

They rounded a couple of corners and ran into another geth ambush. "Uncle Wrex has a present for you!" He roared, and the blasting began again. The troopers went down quickly, with only a few missile scores on the mako, which danced under their impact. The Colossus, however, nailed them quite a few times before it went down.

"Shepard," Garrus warned. "Our shields have been depleted. If we keep going we'll get fried…and I don't want to go out being boiled in this tin can…it's undignified."

"Don't you worry about a thing, Garrus…if you get boiled you can live on through me…after I eat you that is…turian tastes pretty good boiled…though I prefer my turian roasted…the carapace just falls right off the meat…" Wrex reassured him.

Garrus' mandibles dropped in a frown. He never quite knew when to take Wrex seriously and there were some things he'd rather not look too closely at. Some things he was damn sure he didn't want to know the answer for.

"You think you'd survive if the mako blew up?" Asked Shepard.

"Of course I would. I survived Tuchanka." Wrex stated…as if that explained it all…and he thought she was lack witted to even ask.

Shepard rolled her eyes and shook her head. Wrex was certainly a handful. She sighed. Waiting for the damn shields to replenish was painfully slow…Bloody omni-gel could repair damage…but they were shit out of luck with the shields. So much for omni-gel being _omni_. She was watching Garrus and Wrex banter back and forth about what they were going to do to Saren when they caught up to him. Some of it was rather gruesome and made her stomach lurch. She tuned out what they were saying and let her eyes fall on Garrus. Why was she so drawn to this man? He is a great guy. He was her best friend…personality-wise he was just about everything she could want… but he was physically opposite of everything she'd ever been attracted to in the past. She liked beauty, and muscles, and large eyes…he did not have any of those traits…yet she was drawn to him all the same.

Garrus felt her eyes on him. He closed his eyes, shut out Wrex and then turned to face her. He could see she was anxious, worried, and stressing out. "Shepard," he said, grasping her by the shoulders and lowering his forehead to hers. "We will do this. Don't ever doubt that. I'll…we'll be beside you the whole way."

Wrex grumbled…"Get a room you two...you're making me sick."

Garrus closed his eyes for a moment longer, mentally kicking Wrex in the quad. "You'll defeat Saren…you'll defeat Sovereign…and you will save the galaxy…you're Commander Shepard…you always win…and since I'm here you will win with style." His mandibles flared in a cocky smile. He reluctantly pulled away from her and looked over the scanners. "Shields are finally back up Shepard…let's go finish this."

She followed the water way until it started to dip. She stopped the mako while Garrus scanned the area below. They could make out the conduit and the vast number of geth left behind to protect it. She looked at both the men who were bantering about how difficult this was going to be. "I'm going to barrel straight through," she told them. "If anything gets in front of us blow it up, otherwise don't worry about it. I'm not going to slow down so you can line up shots… Hang onto your seats boys…we're going to be in for a bumpy ride."

The men looked at each other in horror.

"Oh, stop it you two...my driving isn't that bad!" She admonished. The mako jumped and started down the hill, picking up speed on the way down. Rockets, bullets and shield bombs rained up at them. She's jumped the waterway twice after the ground leveled out, hurtling over the small embankments before landing back into the waterway. The mako rocked and shook as it absorbed round after round of enemy fire. Wrex took out a colossus that had moved in front of them, the mako shuddered as it rolled over the top of the downed wreck.

The conduit was right in front of them now. Garrus reached over and put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as the mako jumped into the conduit's beam. For better or worse they were on their way.

A sense of absolute stillness settled over them. The calm before the storm she mused. It was like being briefly suspended. There was absolutely nothing. You could not even get a fathoming of time. It was millennia...it was nanoseconds…it was stillness…nothing…void…then gravity took over like a bitch and they were hurtling to the ground. She frantically tried to get the dampeners back online, but the mako had fought its last fight. They crashed into the ground with bone rattling finality.

As they crawled out from the mako's wreckage, they took in their first sight of the Presidium… an empty, broken, smoking mess in Saren's wake.

A stuttering Avina V.I. told them the council was safe and where Saren was heading. The hopped the nearby elevator, but didn't get far. Putting on their breathers and activating their mag-boots, Shepard shot out the elevator's window and they stepped out into the exhaust plain of the Citadel Tower.

They head down a ramp, mopped up some geth and headed up another ramp and into an upper corridor. She'd found the easiest way to deal with enemies in the zero-G environment was to get them airborne. So, as they proceeded along, geth and krogan alike were treated to volleys of lift, throw, pull, singularity followed with a warp bomb, and shockwave as needed to root them out of cover. The men weakened oncoming enemies and shot anything that looked like it would come back down and bite them in the butt. She could hear intermittent shouts of _Take that_…_eat this_…_scoped and dropped_...and a few more colorful phrases she didn't even want to think about.

They moved up a ramp taking out more geth, weaving through their holo-shields, following the path to the left. Another left brought them to another corridor with more geth and krogan eager to meet their fates. They were an unstoppable wheel of death, spacing or gunning down everything in their path.

At the end of the corridor they rounded a corner and found a geth drop-ship raining geth troops all around them. She looked at the nearby inactive turrets and knew that was the only shot they had to bring down that ship. "Cover my 6," she said, amped up and charged to the first turret. She rolled out of the way to avoid a rocket and hurtled to the next turret. When all 3 were actively engaging the geth drop-ship she and the men settled in to mop up the geth it had dropped off. With flames and black smoke licking at its hull, the drop-ship backed off and pulled out.

They moved across the deck and into another corridor. More geth and krogan took flight. It was a beautiful sight…though she was feeling strained and drained. She knew she would never be able to keep this up. They hadn't even reached Saren yet. It seemed another secret would have to be revealed. Damn it. At least she knew if she had to entrust her secret to anyone these are the two she'd trust it with the most. She sighed wearily and shook her head.

Here goes, she thought. "The next krogan that comes our way shoot him, but don't kill him and certainly don't space him. I need him alive."

"Do you think he's going to tell you something we don't already know?" Asked Garrus.

"Keeping one alive is dangerous, Shepard, why risk it?" Grumbled Wrex.

"He won't be alive for long. Believe me. I'm drained. I need to recharge. I can use him like a…battery I guess. It's faster if I could touch him directly, but I can still siphon his aura and life force if I can get close enough to him." She said as she looked at her two friends. The men's eyes blinked in unison. "It's similar to a biotic's reave power, but with reave I siphon from them and receive protection while it's in effect. With my drain power I can siphon their auras, their shields, barriers, and life and absorb them into myself. It's the fasted way for me to rebuild." She sighed. "Look, there aren't enough krogan for me to be able to hide what I'm doing, like I've done in the past...I couldn't have you fill him full of bullets and make him useless to me…Please, say something."

"Damn human, you have the power to kill a man with a thought? Might have to make you an honorary krogan." Wrex growled as he slammed his fists together.

"Remind me to stay on your good side Shepard." Garrus intoned. He looked into her worried eyes. "You don't have to worry Shepard, this will not go beyond us…will it Wrex?" He asked, shooting his friend a dark look.

Wrex shook his head, pointed behind them and said, "Show time." A krogan was making his way along the far end of the corridor towards them. Garrus aimed his sniper and shot him in both legs. The krogan went down and Shepard picked up speed to get to him before he could regen. "Stay back while I'm siphoning from him," she warned. "I don't want to siphon from either of you." She turned to the krogan. "Forgive me."

Garrus watched intently as she held out a hand towards the krogan. Regardless of what she said, if he threatened her in any way, he would put him down hard. He looked from Shepard to the krogan. He couldn't see anything happening. Then she began to glow. The krogan began to twitch and shudder. He arched off the ground in a tight bow, a scream rent from his throat. Blood exploded from his mouth, his ear ducts, his nose and seeped from his eyes, and then he was still. Shepard flared blue and lowered her hand. "Thank you and sleep well."

"Damn me, Shepard, that was hot. Would you consider a breeding request? I'd love to get a krogan off you. Of course, the plowing might be fun too…even if you are a bit squishy" Wrex smirked, his gaze shooting to Garrus.

Garrus spun around, slammed into Wrex, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him. "Don't you ever speak to her that way again," he snarled. "Or I _will_ kill you."

"You would try," Wrex told him. Then he started shaking and it took Garrus a moment to realize he was laughing. Not just laughing…laughing his ass off.

Garrus got up and backed away confused and angry, not taking his eyes of Wrex who had sat up but was still laughing his ass off. He felt a gentle hand on his arm and he turned to face the woman he loved but could not have.

"It's okay Garrus. Wrex was joking. He knows you're protective of me… he was _baiting_ you." Then she whispered, as best she could through her helmet..."I think it's a bromance thing among the krogan…a way of showing someone you care."

Garrus chuckled. Bromance…Wrex...what an oxymoronic combination. "Thank you Shepard…you always know just what to say." He said and turned away.

She looked at his back wistfully. I wish, Garrus…I wish that were true. If it were you wouldn't have me so tied up in knots. I'd be able to tell you how I felt about you…if I knew just what to say.

Wrex looked from one to the other. Well if it isn't the blind leading the blind he thought. He laughed again. To be so young, blind, and stupid. Should he tell them? Put them out of their self imposed misery? Naw, he snorted, this was too damn much fun.

Garrus offered Wrex a hand and gave him a boost up. They had somewhere to be.

They came out onto a more open deck. She ran a few steps and leapt down into a trench so she could survey the battleground. There were geth on the deck, geth in trenches ahead and a three large, nasty rocket turrets. She took the ramp up out of the trench and pushed forward slowly. Nailing any geth that she found. Looking around to the right she found a geth making a bead on Wrex, she amped and charged, sending the geth flying into space. She turned to find another target to charge. A rocket exploded into her chest, discharged against her barrier, but sent her flying backwards. Wrex grabbed her with a pull to prevent her from being spaced, but it spun her around; her momentum carried her backwards and she slammed face first into a large column. Wrex continue to fire at the geth, giving Garrus a chance to make it to their commander's side.

Garrus could only watch in horror as Shepard crumpled against the column. She looked so broken. His heart hitched and sputtered as he made his way to her side. He gently turned her over, afraid to move her at all. That's when he noticed her cracked faceplate…and the blood that coated the inside of her helmet. Her nose was broken and twisted, her lips shredded, a couple of teeth were missing. Her eyes were large and calm.

She looked up at the man she loved. "Looks like I really stepped in it this time, huh?" She coughed weakly.

"Shhh," Garrus said urgently…"don't talk."

"I need to tell you while I can," she wheezed…"I love you, Garrus…I always have."

His heart soared and fell at the same time. "I love you too, Shepard… so, you just hang on. I'm not about to let you go now." He pulled her into his lap as gently as he could, unsure how broken her body was.

A rocket struck a few feet from them, shaking the column he was leaning against. He bent over Shepard, to keep the debris from falling on her. He just didn't know how he was going to get her out of this. They were in the middle of a battle and there was no place to run to.

She loved him. The woman he'd loved for so long actually loved him back. She had loved him all along. Why couldn't he see it? They could have had so much time together. All the clues had been there. The comments Wrex and the crew had made, the looks Kaidan had given him, the way she depended on him, how easily she let him see the real her under her commander mask, the way she curled so trustingly into his arms. It had all been there, bared open, and he hadn't seen what everyone else had so easily seen.

He started feeling a bit light headed. He shook his head to clear it. He looked down at the woman in his arms. She was glowing. She was siphoning from him. Healing herself.

"Garrus," she said weakly. "You need to put me down and move away from me. I could not bear to take from you and my body has taken over."

"Take anything you need, Shepard. You know I would give you anything. I love you. I've always loved you. You are the center of my world… I could no more live without you than I could live without the heart in my chest. So, don't ever ask me to leave you. I would not. I could not. Not for ANY reason."

"You don't understand," she rattled. "The damage is too great…my body would take everything. I love you," she sighed…she looked up into her lover's eyes and knew that no matter what she said he would not let her go. If the tables were turned she wouldn't let him go. She couldn't blame him…but she could stop him.

He could see tears falling down her eyes as she looked at him through her helmet. "I'm sorry," she whispered…"I love you..." A small smile crossed her shattered face. She glowed briefly blue… a small shard of permaglass popped out of her cracked helmet. Garrus' heart stilled. "No, Shepard..," he said desperately as he covered the small hole with his finger. "Don't you dare. Don't you do this to me. Don't you give up on us."

Her calm, watery eyes looked at him, her lip trembled, she mouthed…I love you…

She glowed brighter blue and her face plate shattered, permaglass floating around them both. He watched in horror as the blood vessels in her eyes burst. Air and moisture were sucked out of her mouth, freezing in small plumes around her head. Her body arched and heaved trying to suck in air that wasn't there.

He propped her on his lap, one leg raised to keep her inclined. He removed his helmet and detached his air hose. Damn it was cold. He put it to his mouth and inhaled. Then he put the air hose to her mouth, but she moved away. Damn it, Shepard. He removed her helmet and removed his armored gauntlet, resting his left palm upon her cold cheek. "Come on Shepard," he mouthed, plumes of air and moisture freezing around his face. "Take it," he mouthed desperately.

She looked at him one more time. She could barely see him; like he was on the other side of a dark tunnel. She gave her head a slight shake and gave herself up to the darkness.

A look of calm settle over her features and Garrus dropped his head to hers. "Don't go," he mouthed. "Don't leave me here alone. I belong with you." He shuddered. "Don't go…or take me with you." He clutched desperately at her body, his own heaving from lack of air.

Wrex had finally made it back to where the couple sat. At a glance he saw what had happened. He had thought she was invincible. He looked at the shell that was Garrus and he knew he had to snap him out of it. They had a mission to finish. He grabbed Garrus' helmet and slammed it over his head. Then he attached the air hose. Garrus weakly fumbled for the airhose to dislodge it and Wrex cuffed him upside the head. "Quit moping around, you gutless pyjack. Do you think she'd want to see you acting the idiot? Or do you think she'd want you to finish her mission and save the galaxy? You need to let her go, Garrus, it's what she'd want."

"I loved her," he said weakly.

"I know."

"She loved me."

"Yes, I know." Wrex grumbled. "So, get off your whiny ass and make that love and sacrifice worth something."

Garrus hugged her lifeless body; letting her go would be the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. He shut his eyes, but couldn't stem the flow of tears. Tears any turian would be ashamed of… Any turian but him.

"We will mourn her later, Garrus." Wrex said softly.

"I can't just leave her here." Garrus said numbly.

"We won't. We will come back for her."

Garrus picked her up and walked her back into the alcove. He removed her guns so that the magnets that held them in place would instead hold her in place against the wall. He made sure her magboots were on to ensure she was more firmly anchored. He put her helmet back on her head. He didn't know why, it just didn't feel right to leave her so exposed. He looked at her one more time. It didn't feel right just leaving her here. She didn't look dead standing there like that. It seemed like she would look up at him at any moment and tell him it was time to move out. His heart wrenched. She was never going to do that again. She was never again going to lay in his arms late at night watching vids or reading books with him. She was never going to spar with him again. She was never going to shoot bottles with him again.

She was his world. How do you survive when your world stops turning? He wasn't sure he'd be able to and he was damn sure he didn't want to. But for now he knew Wrex was right. He had to put one foot in front of the other and finish her mission. He wouldn't do it for the galaxy, he could give a shit about the galaxy right now…but he would do it for her. He would do anything for her.

Her hand flew to her faceplate. Whole. Not cracked. Not shattered. The relief that flooded through her nearly dropped her to her knees. The lack of oxygen, the brain death left her a little disoriented and fuzzy. Some deaths were harder to come back from, some affected her in odd ways, a scar left behind, a limp, an irrational fear she had to work through. Death wasn't easy even if you were allowed to come back from it. She knew there were things she needed to remember and they niggled at the back of her mind. She shook her head. Time for that later.

She came to an exit and held up her hand to stop them before they could go through it. "The deck is heavily guarded by geth. They are both on the deck and entrenched. There are trenches running throughout the deck, so we must expect heavy resistance. There are massive rocket turrets. We can guarantee they've been hacked and will fire upon us. To the left past the first trench there is another entryway. It may be that is a way to skirt around the turrets. I think that is our best bet. When we break for cover I want you to make for the entryway like hell is on your heels. Garrus take point; I will stay and cover your 6s. When you get across you can cover mine. Understood?"

The men nodded, broke cover, and ran like hell. She sent out a volley of bullets and wave after wave of power, misdirecting bullets and rockets. One rocket, slammed with a throw, spun 180* and detonated into the geth that had released it. Beautiful.

At the entryway Garrus pulled out his sniper and laid cover fire for Shepard. "Krogen!" He heard Wrex yell, but he ignored the threat behind him, concentrating on the threat to Shepard. She amped and charged. She miscalculated her pull up and slammed into Garrus, hurtling them both to the ground. He dropped his gun and flung his arms around her to protect her. She was breathing hard looking down at him. He could see the smile in her eyes.

"Sorry about that Garrus…I was…er, distracted." It's not like she could tell him she was recently dead and a bit disoriented from it.

"Not time for that lovebirds…Krogan charging!" Wrex growled.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 4

Seran, Sovereign, & the Geth

She held out her hand, gave Garrus a boost up. Spun around, grabbed up his dropped sniper, and handed it to him…still in a bit of awe that he had actually dropped the rifle to help her. That gun was his baby. It humbled her to think that he would abandon it to help her. Snap it to his back…sure, lay it down carefully…sure, but to drop it with total disregard to catch her? She shook her head…no...she was reading more into it. It must have been an accident. She probably hit him harder than she thought.

She absently flung out a wave of energy and sent a charging krogan flying, rebounding into the ceiling with a sickening thud. Damn, there's a ceiling in this corridor…no spacing baddies this time…time to get her head back in the game. Even if she did feel like a bobble-head at the moment.

They pin-wheeled down the corridor…Garrus softening them up in a rain of bullets or zapping shields, she warp bombed and reaved their armor, and Wrex sent them crashing into the walls and ceiling before blasting them with his shotgun. And like moths to a flame they just kept coming. Eventually, they ran out of krogan to fling about and the corridor had come to an abrupt end.

She glanced around in confusion. This should have taken them to the tower proper. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked at Garrus who, with mandibles spread, was pointing at her feet. She looked down at the hatch then back to Garrus. "Smart ass." She griped. "Just wait until I break out the leather, I'll sadist all over your ass."

Garrus raised a brow plate, his mandibles flared and he looked at her intently. "Promises…promises." He chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

They dropped down into the hatch and headed for the Tower.

The underground passageway was uneventful. No surprises awaited them, much to Wrex's displeasure. She could hear the men bantering and complaining in the background. Her thoughts were focused on what they might find ahead. What defenses did Saren have up? Had he made it to the console that would give Sovereign the control it needed? Would she be able to save Saren from himself? She had seen his confliction earlier; perhaps it was not too late for him. While it may be too late for the Council to forgive him for what he allowed to happen, it might not be too late to save his soul. Gad…she was such a girl sometimes…how many male soldiers would be concerned about Saren's soul?

They followed the ramp up and exited through another hatch. Finally, the Tower proper. The Council Chambers. So very different from the last time she was here. Gone was the arrogance and indifference. Fires were scattered here and there throwing shadow and flame. Alarms were sounding off. Her hearing was better than most, the constant ringing was giving her a headache and annoying her senses like tiny flies buzzing around her head.

She grabbed a pack of medigel from a nearby medical kit and proceeded up the stairs. She held her hand up to stop them. A quick survey showed there were at least 7 geth, some of which were hiding behind those hexagon holo-shields. There may be more, they had to assume that to be the case. She motioned the men to fan out.

As they entered the courtyard geth began to rain bullets at them. She kept moving forward throwing geth in the air as she passed, leaving Wrex and Garrus to wipe them up. So, there were 9…a rather weak defense. Perhaps Saren hadn't expected them to make it this far…or perhaps he knew once he made it this far there would be no stopping the inevitable…but the one thing he hadn't counted on is that she did not know the meaning of inevitable. She ate inevitable for breakfast…though sometimes she had to admit it tasted more like ashes than victory.

As the master control terminal came into view she saw Saren push a couple of buttons, turn around to look at them and step off the platform to disappear.

"Double time!" She yelled, and they picked up speed.

Saren, aboard his flying platform, hovered up and lobbed a grenade at her party. She amped her power ready to deflect the grenade and throw it back at him. "Don't even think about it," Garrus shouted as he grabbed her around the waist and propelled them behind a planter at the base of the walkway platform. The grenade detonated in a fiery explosion. Garrus covered her body with his own and she threw up a barrier bubble to protect them from any fall out. She hoped Wrex had gotten to safety in time.

"You are so gallant, Garrus," she said grinning and pointing up.

He lay there stunned for a moment, shook his head and glanced up, noticed the barrier bubble, and then back down to the woman pinned beneath him. He gave her a wicked grin. "But this is so much more fun." Though, truth be told, without all this armor in the way things would have been a lot more interesting...and perhaps a bit more embarrassing, he admitted. Damn armor wasn't making nice with certain parts of him right now.

Garrus let Shepard up. They sat side by side in the protected corner of the stairs and planter. She flung her arms around him and hugged him tight, he closed his eyes and hugged her back. "It's the thought that counts and yours was a beautiful one. Thank you." She said. It was hard for him to let go when she pulled back. Her smile faded and he saw the Commander mask slide back in place. She turned her face towards the stairs to confront Seran.

Still floating just out of range Saren began taunting her. He didn't think she'd make it in time for her to see him beat her. He was disappointed she didn't offer him more of a fight. Her reputation was sorely over-inflated. But he also had to thank her, he began to have doubts after talking with her on Vermire…when Sovereign sensed them, it implanted him and now he had no doubts.

"Are you out of your cyborg mind? You let Sovereign implant you?" She asked incredulously.

"I was not offered a choice," Saren said looking away in contemplation. He shook his head to clear it. "But, regardless, I am thinking much more clearly now. No worries. No doubts. It is liberating to be free from murky hindrances that can cloud a mundane mind."

"You're not seeing the whole picture, Saren. Once you let the other Reapers in you will cease to be useful to Sovereign. **All** advanced civilizations _will_ be harvested." She paused… "I have the power to end this, Seran. I'm the only one who can. I'm not…normal…I'm…different. And that …_difference_ the Reapers didn't count on. That…difference will be what breaks this cycle. I _will _end this. "

"I'm inclined to believe you are different, vela... and it's obvious you believe what you say, but you are still only one woman…one overconfident, _human_ woman. No matter how _different_ you are the Reapers are too vast…too powerful…there is only one way any of us will survive…I have been shown the future...those that support the Reapers will survive. It has shown me..."

She cut him off. "Sovereign is only allowing you to see what it wants you to see. You are indoctrinated and thus you are blind to the truth. There will be no one left behind capable of surviving. That is what it is not showing you. Anyone left behind when they go back to dark-space will be mindless, indoctrinated husks unable to survive on their own. You are not saving anyone, you are dooming us all. You need to think, Saren. Remember what the beacons showed you, what the cipher showed you."

In that moment his mind cleared, pictures from the beacons, pictures Sovereign clouded, had become focused once more. He could see the truth in her words. He lifted his head and screamed out his fury. He looked down upon the human woman. "You are right, vela." He sighed wearily. "I am indoctrinated. Sovereign twisted the truth and blinded me to what I had been shown. I," he gasped, "knew what he could do. I thought I was safe…You-" Crippling pain shot through his skull. He grabbed his head and screamed in agony.

Shepard stood and ran up the steps of the walkway platform. "You can fight this, Seran. You are a strong man full of strong convictions. Show Sovereign you will no longer be its puppet. Show Sovereign its manipulation ends now. Show it your strength!" She demanded.

Saren was blinded by the pain rending through his head. The pain was the only thing that existed. He could make out her words…barely…they came from a great distance. He saw the truth again and that could not be unseen. He wouldn't let it be. She was right, Sovereign's manipulation would end. He would not be controlled. He had been a Spectre…one of the best. But he would rather die a failed Spectre than Sovereign's play-thing. "Thank you, vela...for saving me." He said between clenched teeth. He put his pistol to the side of his head. "Now, save them all." He pulled the trigger and toppled from his platform, through the glass floor, to the atrium below.

Shepard blinked. She stood there a brief moment in shock. She shook her head and ran up the walkway to the master control terminal. She turned on her omni-tool and downloaded the data file Vigil had given her to regain control of the Citadel's systems. She had just opened a com channel to signal the Normandy when a distress signal came through from the Destiny Ascension. The council members were aboard and the ship's shields and engines were failing.

Joker commed her demanding she respond. He told her he and the entire Arcturus fleet were standing by and could either rescue the Ascension or concentrate their strength on Sovereign… she just needed to open the relays to the Citadel and give the command. Her team was quick to throw their opinions at her. She let them slide off. For a brief moment she considered letting the Ascension rot. She opened the relays, took a deep breath and said, "Save the Ascension." A grateful ally is more useful than a resentful enemy. And, cliché as it sounds…better the devil you know…

In the next instant the Alliance was poring through the mass relay, tearing into the geth fleet. She nodded, looked down at Saren's body in the atrium below and turned to her squad. "Check on Saren, make sure he's dead."

The moment Garrus commed that he was dead, the station gave a violent shudder, red lightning bolts flashed and streaked. She watched in horror as red lightning poured into Saren's body, lifted it screaming into the air…an explosion rocked the station, the concussive wave blew her squad backwards; the walkway she was standing on gave way, and sent her sliding to atrium floor below.

Saren continued to flail, buck, and scream…until all that had been left of Saren had been burned away, leaving nothing of the man behind. What they now faced was a robotic husk …red electrical charges coursed through its body, burning with Sovereign's rage.

The robot flung itself around the room faster than she could track it. She ordered Wrex to concentrate on warp bombs, stasis fields and shotgun firepower and Garrus to focus on dampening, overloading, and sabotage. She would cover the rest.

Garrus sighed and rolled his eyes. "We know what we're doing, Shepard, you don't have to tell us every step."

She shrugged and kept scanning the room trying to find where the damn thing jumped to. "It's the commander in me…hard to let it go sometimes." She flashed a brief glance in Garrus' direction. "If you know so much, why are you still holding your sniper? It's too fast for that."

Garrus looked sheepishly at her, snapped the sniper onto his back and grabbed his AR. "I knew that," he said. "Besides," he said. "If I missed the shot, I could always take the stick from my ass and beat it with it."

Wrex gave a bark of laughter and fired his shotgun. "Just ignore it like I do, Garrus. It makes her feel important. She needs that."

She sent a furious scowl in their direction.

The robot dropped to the ground and spider-walked straight for her. She backed up, stumbled over a small chunk of debris and fell hard on her ass. Damn...so much for graceful. She flung out a stasis field just as red energy from the robot danced off her shields. Her body tingled...in a very unpleasant way…she jumped to her feet and leapt away. "Now!" She yelled and pulled out her shotgun.

The three of them poured round after round into the energy bound robot. When the stasis field expired it sent out a dampening wave and jumped out of reach. She hated when that happened. Fine…bullets it was. When they recovered they sent powers flying in every direction, hoping that something would eventually hit the damn thing.

A red fire bomb lobbed into her, she doubled over and gasped. Damn that hurt.

"Shepard!" Garrus growled at her. "Get your head out of your ass and pay attention."

She knew he was mad because he cared…but it still irked…She gave a slight pull on her power, wiggled a finger at Garrus and he tripped over what appeared to be his own feet. He shot her a vehement glare. She winked at him, blew him a kiss, and blindly flung out a stasis field to her left.

She heard Wrex shout out, and they both turned to see the robot suspended in mid-leap. Hot-damn…she will not question the power of the fates…but she could not have been any more awesome if she tried. Garrus looked at her in awe and she smirked. They turned and unloaded their weapons into the trapped robot.

It crashed to the ground, burst into red flame, and disintegrated…They looked at each other…"Well, that was a bit anti-climatic," Garrus quipped. They all chuckled in relief.

They heard a high pitched screech and the station shuddered. She looked up through the windowed ceiling and saw Sovereign explode into fiery shrapnel…Shrapnel falling straight towards them. "Run!" she screamed. She sent a wave of power at the men, shoving them further away and lobbed a barrier bubble in its wake.

Glass and debris fell all around her. She amped for a charge and was struck in the side by a chunk of Sovereign… damn thing had bite even in death. She looked up in time to see a large chunk of tentacle nearly atop her. She flung out a barrier bubble, it bounced off the bubble, bursting it and crashed down next to her. The concussion of the hit sent her spinning into a twisted chunk of ceiling. The world went dark.

Garrus felt a wave of energy hit him propelling him forward, he ran with the momentum to keep from toppling over. She did not just do that. As soon as he could he turned to go after her. A glowing barrier popped up around him and Wrex. Through the barrier he saw her slammed sideways when flying debris struck her. No! He slapped his hands against the barrier, but it held. Huge bits of ceiling and debris slammed down around them, imprisoning them. Shit! Shepard! He looked through a large gap towards where Shepard had been. A shadow darkened the atrium. He looked up to see a massive chunk of Sovereign crash down upon her, her telltale blue light winked out. The barrier bubble died.

He stood still in utter shock, the blood in his veins turned to ice. A rage like he never felt before settled in his gut...he flung himself at the metal cage that kept him from her. He pounded on it with all his fury…slamming himself into it over and over again in desperation. He had to get to her. He heard someone screaming…he ignored it…it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting to her.

Wrex had finally had enough. He limped over to Garrus and cuffed him upside the head. "Stop mewling, you damn pyjack, you're deafening me." Garrus' mouth opened and closed, but only silence followed. "Damn, I was hoping I'd have to smack you again."

"She needs me Wrex." Garrus said numbly, falling to the ground in a boneless, battered heap.

"No." Wrex sighed. "Not anymore, Garrus. You saw the barrier bubble die before it should have. You know what that means."

Garrus felt drained. His world was crumbling. They were a team. She was his sun… his center...his rock. Who was he without her?

There was a thud followed by a bright light that blinded him. Garrus blinked his eyes in irritation. "Captain Anderson… they're over here!"

Anderson made his way through the opening. He saw the krogan and the turian, but no sign of Shepard. "Take it easy. It's over." He told them. "You're safe now. Where is Commander Shepard?" The turian refused to look at him. The krogan shook his head and jerked it in the direction of the large gap where a massive debris field could be seen. Anderson closed his eyes as a wave of pain assailed him. He was more than just her commanding officer. Shepard was like a daughter to him. He hung his head a moment and then stood. He would mourn her later.

As the sergeant helped the krogan out of the wreckage Anderson assisted the turian. Vakarian looked at him bleakly. A more lost and broken man Anderson had never seen. He laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry...she meant a lot to me too." Vakarian turned to look at him. The dead eyes made Anderson shiver, he was sure they would haunt him the rest of his days. Vakarian shrugged off his hand and pulled away.

The captain sighed. He looked over the debris field. So much destruction. So much death. He started to turn away and something caught his eye. He swung his head back around. Nothing. Shadows dancing…playing tricks on him. Then he saw it again. Someone was over there. Moving. "I'll be damned," he said.

Garrus turned around at the captain's words. His mandibles dropped, his mouth opened and his heart slammed in his chest painfully. Shepard stood atop a large pile of debris looking down at them, smiling…injured, but very much alive.

As she headed down to them he heaved his aching body in her direction. He didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him…of them…right now it just didn't matter.

They walked into each other's arms without hesitation, clinging to each other in relief. After a long moment Garrus looked down at the woman he loved. "Don't ever do that again. We're a team. We're in this together Shepard…not apart."

She looked up into his moist grey eyes and knew he was as close to losing his composure as she was. Thoughts beat like butterfly wings in her head…there was something…she pushed it away, she would try to remember later…right now she had to tell Garrus how she felt.

"Garrus…I need to tell you…I –"

Anderson interrupted. He clapped her on the shoulder, his eyes shining with relief. "Damn, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Garrus felt her wince and gently pulled her away. "She's injured," he told the captain.

"Of course." Anderson said. He briefly studied the man and woman in front of him. The love they had for each other shined brightly. He wished them well. "We're getting you to the hospital right away."

Some bandages, a dose of medigel and a clean pair of underwear later and she was off to see the council.

The council greatly appreciated the losses the Alliance took to keep the council members safe. So much so, that to honor those sacrifices humanity was given a seat on the council. When asked who she thought should be given the seat on the council, she had responded, "Captain Anderson would be perfect for the job. Sovereign was only a vanguard…the Reapers are still coming and we need a military mind on the council to help prepare us for the war to come...a war I will do everything in my power to end." She said as she walked away.

Life had pretty much returned back to normal on the Normandy. Shepard had been ordered out to the Traverse to mop up remaining pockets of geth and keep lookout for any signs of a Reaper appearance.

The cargo bay was empty with the loss of the mako, so Garrus moved to the forward battery to calibrate the main guns. And...she sighed…it seems he found his niche. She could swear he was in love with a giant gun. She missed him. Plain and simple. He spent most of his time calibrating the damn gun when all she really wanted him to do was calibrate her. She poured another glass of wine.

She'd only spent a handful of evenings with him in the last few weeks and his loss was eating at her. She needed to find out what had changed, so she could set it right…If it could be set right. She had finally arranged to get an evening with him and she was so nervous she was shaking…and perhaps drinking too much…liquid courage and all. She put on a small, low cut, shiny gold dress. It was a wrap around. Belting at her waist and coming mid-thigh. It was filmy, yet stretchy and clung to her figure. She wore a tiny golden g-string and nothing else beneath it. She topped it off with shiny gold 5" hooker heels. She wasn't sure why she was dressing up…she just felt like feeling feminine.

No, she admitted to herself. That was a lie. She was dressing for him, though she doubted he would even notice. She wasn't sure what she would have to do to get him to notice her as a woman. Strip off her dress and dance the rumba? Would he notice her then?

She left her cabin and took the elevator down to the starboard lounge. She had claimed the lounge for herself tonight and keyed in her access code. A code only one other on the ship knew. Their code.

She knew she arrived quite a bit early. But she had been too eager to wait in her room. She kept the lights off and walked over to the huge window and gazed out at the stars.

She hoped she could figure out what was wrong between her and Garrus. She had to fix it so she could tell him how he made her feel …how she felt about him. She sighed in frustration; she should have had a nice long visit with b.o.b. before leaving her cabin. It would have made getting through this evening a lot easier. As it stood, it would take everything in her power not to jump Garrus the moment he walked through the door.

Hell and damn-fire. She spread her legs, moved her panties aside and stroked herself. She groaned...she would give anything for Garrus to be touching her. She closed her eyes, picturing Garrus in front of her, his eyes smoldering in passion, her hips swayed and she moaned as she continued to stroke herself.

Garrus watched as Shepard moved past him to the window. He knew this was her favorite place on the ship. He knew that she knew that he was ignoring her lately. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her. Spirits, that was the farthest thing from the truth. He had been avoiding her out of fear. The need to possess her had grown to the point where he didn't think he could control it. He felt himself slipping whenever he was around her and he was terrified of what he might do to her. He didn't want to hurt her and he knew he was hurting her all the same. He knew this couldn't go on. He had to tell her what he felt for her, that's why he'd agreed to meet her tonight. He would do anything...anything to make her love him back. To give him a chance.

The gold dress she wore swayed provocatively around her thighs, caressing them as she walked. He closed his eyes and bid for the calm to come. The calm ignored his pleas. His pulse raced. His nose quivered. He smelled…desire. Her desire. The smell of her desire tantalized his senses, boiled his blood, and turned him hard as stone. His eyes flew open. He could see her reflection the glass…eyes closed…pleasuring herself, hips swaying…it was more than he could take. His instincts and his body took over…the beast assumed control.

He got up from the sofa and moved in behind her, stripping the thin gloves from his hands as he approached her. He put his mouth by her ear and said thickly, "Let me help you with that."

***I am not calling Garrus an animal by using the term beast. This term will be explained in the course of time.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 5

Death & Destruction

He ran his hands down her arms until they rested upon her hands. She leaned back into him for a moment…then stilled and spun around, her hands rose to his carapace.

"Garrus," she whispered. "shhh…don't wake me up." The man she wanted most in this world was staring at her…eyes burning with desire. A shiver went down her spine. If this was a dream she hoped no one would slap her awake.

He ran his hands down her back, grasping her fleshy white ass and molded her against him. The heat of her core burned into him and he ground himself against her.

She gasped when she felt his hardness against her. Relief flooded through her…no vent. He had a penis and she couldn't wait to see what he looked like. "I've never seen a turian naked before," she admitted shyly as she rubbed herself against him.

"Nor I a human," he said thickly. He pulled the bow on her dress and it parted. He put his hands to her shoulders and ran them down her arms, the dress followed, pooling at her feet. Her pheromones beat at him, the scent of her desire drove him mad. He grasped the hand she had used to pleasure herself and brought it to his mouth. His tongue wrapped around her fingers, tasting her essence.

He growled, picked her up, and slammed her against the cold window. Garrus looked on in horror at what his body was doing. Not this way, he screamed. Beating at the walls in his head. This was the woman that he loved and he was treating her like an animal. He could tell she'd had too much to drink, she was not in her right mind and he was abusing her deepest trust and…helpless to prevent it. Her head was flung back and the beast was moving in to claim her. No! He seethed, pushing at his mind. Not like this! He felt his teeth sink into the top of her shoulder and heard her cry out in pain. He could taste her blood and he hung his head in defeat. He had marked her. Claimed her. Any turian who saw it would know she was his. It should have been a choice they made together. Never like this. It was the gravest of offenses.

She was shocked when he first bit her, but his tongue was soothing the wound and driving her wild.

He'd dropped to his knees in front of her, held her to the window with one arm, the other hand pulled the bows on her g-string and it fell slowly to the ground. For just a moment she felt precariously perched, then she could feel his upper arms under her ass, his forearms behind her back against the window, forming a chair of sorts. Her legs spread wide. How the hell was he holding her up like that? Her thoughts fled again... His head was…sweet stars she nearly shattered when she felt his hot breath caress her where she ached for him most. His mandibles flared and it sent shivers through her body. It felt like butterfly wings caressing her most sensitive flesh.

Garrus close his eyes...he didn't have a right to see her like this…this is not the way it was supposed to happen. He knew this fight with himself was a losing battle. Despite the horror of how he got here, there was no place else he wanted to be. This woman meant more to him then the breath in his body. He could not let the beast take her like this without at least trying to make her feel all the love he felt for her.

He opened his eyes to memorize the very core of her. A place he wanted to spend the rest of his life buried deep inside. The scent of her burned into his memory. He felt his tongue separated her damp folds. He needed to taste her. As his tongue explored he found a sensitive bud that caused her to buck and keen out in pleasure every time he bumped it. He swirled his tongue around the bud and gently nipped it between his pliable mouth plates, then gave it a flick with his tongue. She ran her hands along his crest spikes as her hips jerked in response.

He needed more. He ran his tongue down her slit and entered her hot core. He explored her tight sheath; he pulled out, flicked her nub and reentered her. She yelled out, bucked and gripped his tongue with her inner muscles.

She was coiled so tight. His tongue was wreaking havoc on her. It was so long, so flexible. Doing things no tongue should be able to do. She closed her eyes, pushed outward, and merged her aura with his. There was a brief moment of disorientation and then heat slammed into her. Her desire, his desire rolled into one. She could feel the pleasure of her crest spikes being rubbed, though she had none. She could feel him begin to shake and knew he felt everything he was doing to her as if it were being done to himself. Fire ripped through her veins, "I'm going to…," her world exploded around her as an orgasm tore through her, engulfing her in white hot pleasure. She flew so high the world went black.

She tumbled from the perch on his arms, but the beast caught her before she hit the ground. The beast was frantic. When she passed out the connection was broken. He had to feel her. He had nearly spilled his seed when the orgasm rocked her. He felt the orgasm like it was his own. His balls were heavy and tight. He had to release in the woman. He knew that. The beast freed himself from his pants and spread her legs. He would finish this. They would be one. She would be his and he hers…as it was meant to be.

Garrus roared out in horror. He would not just let this happen. They were no longer two consenting adults. He would not rape her while she lay there defenseless. He would die first. He threw all his rage, all his love into one final push and the world popped into full bloom. He sat for a moment panting from the exertion, and then he shoved himself back into his pants in disgust.

He gazed down at naked woman before him. Pink tipped breasts swayed as she breathed. A tight, flat stomach and flared hips enticed him like he never could have imagined. His eyes fell to her core. So very different than a turian woman. Tight curls wreathed the very heart of her. A heart exposed to his hungry gaze. Her pink, dewy petals beckoned him. He could only imagine what they would feel like wrapped around him. He closed his eyes. He could remember the feel of her softness, could still taste her on his tongue. He shook with a need so profound it rocked him. He could feel the beast raging within him, demanding release.

He gently pulled the dress back on her lax body; moving carefully to disturb her as little as possible. He then tied the scrap of material back over her mound, hiding it from his view. He keyed the door open, picked her up, and carried her as swiftly as he could back to her cabin. He laid her down in her soft bed, removed her shoes, pulled the covers up and crawled in beside her. He lay on his side, put an arm around her, and pulled her up against him, spooning her. It was far from the first time they had fallen asleep like this, but as much as a part of him wanted to make a run for it, he knew he couldn't let her wake up alone after last night. They had too much to talk about.

His hand brushed her breast as it settled on her rib cage; she moaned in her sleep and wiggled closer to him. He gritted his teeth as he felt her bottom rock against him, sighed in frustration and knew it was going to be a long night.

The ship pitched and swayed. They came awake abruptly. Garrus clung to her tightly, cradling her as the tumbled onto the floor. His hand beneath her head to protect her. She tried to get up and cried out in pain. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. The same hand that had protected her head in the fall had also trapped her hair under it.

They untangled their legs and the ship pitched again. Alarms rang out all over the ship. As the ship bucked and heaved she made her way precariously to the comm Button. "Joker!" she yelled, "Speak to me!"

"Were under attack commander…unidentified vessel…" Joker replied

"And you didn't see fit to comm me?"

"I've been kind of busy keeping us alive…figured the alarms might tip you off."

Garrus was already heading out the door. She looked down at her wrinkled gold dress, shrugged, and followed him to the elevator. When the doors closed behind them, she grasped his hand and turned him toward her. Fire burned in her veins. "Was I dreaming?" She asked simply.

He knew he _could_ lie to her, maybe _should_ lie to her…but he didn't. He wouldn't. They had reached a turning point and there was no going back from last night. He could not undo what had happened between them and he didn't want to. He had claimed her. And while their bond may not have been completed…She was his. He was hers. There was no changing that. He was, of course, terrified by what almost happened, but he had never been more alive, he had never burned so hot, and he would _never_ let her go.

He pulled her to him and laid his head against hers. "If it was a dream…we shared it."

She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down. She whispered into his ear hole, "It's about damn time." Then she ran her tongue down his mandible, encasing the double pronged tip in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tips, nibbled gently with her teeth and slowly moved down until they slipped from her mouth.

He growled and crushed her to him. Spirits she was full of surprises. He had not known how sensitive his mandibles could be.

She held the sides of his face in both of her hands and brought her mouth to his. She ran her tongue along his top, flexible lip plate. When he gasped, she deepened the kiss. Her tongue entered his mouth, exploring, finding his tongue, teasing it. He caught on fast. At first it was cat and mouse, teasing, playing…then he wrapped his tongue around hers, gave it a squeeze, released it...sliding down the length of her tongue, caressing it with light flicks.

Their tongues mated and danced, setting fire to her core. She wrapped her arms around his neck, held on tightly while she pulled up and wrapped her legs around his small waste. Damn…she'd always wanted to do that. His hands dropped down to grab her ass and hold her to him while he ground into her.

They were breathing heavy, their pulses racing, blood boiling, control slipping. Then the elevator dinged and came to a stop. He held her a brief moment longer before releasing her as the doors slid open. He grabbed her hand. "Shepard…when this is over we, er…need to talk…hmm…there are things…" he cleared his throat "…that I need to tell you…things…" She placed a finger over his mouth plates. "I love you, Garrus." The Normandy shook again. She gave him a wink and a squeeze, dropped his hand and headed for her locker to gear up.

The doors slid closed behind her and he depressed the down button to the cargo bay and his own locker. She dreamed about him. It was a heady thought. He hadn't even known that she saw him as a man. This mighty, beautiful woman wanted him...she loved him. She LOVED him. He never imagined he'd hear those beautiful words from her lips. And he'd just stood there, jaw open like an idiot. He hadn't told her what he felt. That he loved her too. Spirits, he needed to get into his armor fast…Not just for the fight to come...if there was one…but because he didn't need the whole crew seeing him walk around with a rock in his pants. A rock he was sure was not going to be going down any time soon.

The cargo bay was hectic with half-suited soldiers and techies running around in chaotic upheaval. Explosions could be heard in different parts of the ship. Damn…this didn't bode well. He suited up as fast as he could and ran for the elevator. Shit! It was offline. He darted to the emergency hatch, pulled the ladder down, and headed up into the escape tunnel. He could hear others scurrying up behind him like rats in the dark. Worry and fear warred within him. He had to get to Shepard. Whatever happened he would be at her side…where he belonged.

He heard a new alarm chime…it was the evacuation alarm. He crawled up onto the next deck and took off at a run. The ship bucked and sent him sprawling…narrowly avoiding an electrical fire. He got up on shaky legs and continued on. He had to find her.

The Normandy was shaking apart. Fires cropped up all around her. There were numerous hull breaches. She activated the distress beacon and hoped the Alliance would find them in time. She picked up a fire extinguisher and focused her attention on the fires. She had to give her crew time to board the evac pods.

Kaidan raced up behind her. He explained the Joker refused to leave his station and that he was staying too. "I'll take care of Joker," she told him. "I need _you_ to make sure the crew gets aboard the evac pods safely. "

"Shepard…No...I won't leave you. I L-"

"Go Kaidan," She interrupted. "Now…" She said firmly.

He gave her a long, silent look…drinking her in…and then nodded his head in resignation and anger. "Aye-aye, ma'am."

She watched him go for a moment and then turned her thoughts to Joker. She headed through the hall and up the ramp onto the CIC deck. Garrus stumbled into her as the deck heaved. "Garrus! You need to head to the evac pods."

"No," he said firmly. "I told you before… we're in this together, vela…not apart. I love you, there is no way in hell I'm letting you out of my sight." He gave her a hard look for good measure.

She closed her eyes briefly. He loved her. She looked at him and trailed a hand down his cheek. "Ok," she sighed. Knowing she would never talk him into leaving. "Let's go get Joker."

They weaved their way carefully through the smoke, the debris, and the dangling electrical wires that shot off sparks in every direction. They opened the emergency door that led to the next sector. She grabbed onto Garrus and activated her magboots. The huge hull breach left the entire top of the ship open to space. She released him when she saw him firmly anchored to the flooring. They skirted what was left of the galaxy map and CIC work stations and headed for the main hall that led to the cockpit.

Moving aside floating work station chairs they entered through a blue barrier that protected the cockpit. Jokers hands were flying on the consoles, moving between the holo displays at lightning speed.

"Joker, we need to go." She told him matter of fact.

"I'm not leaving the Normady. I can still save her!"

"No, Jeff...you can't. She is lost to us. Going down with the ship won't change that."

He hung his head and nodded. "I know," he said weakly. "She's my baby…you know Garrus...like your gun is to you."

"I may have thought that way once Joker…but I came to realize some time ago that a gun is just a _tool _…there is something of far greater value in my life…that means more to me than any gun ever could." He said looking into Shepard's eyes, willing her to understand what he was trying to say.

Garrus grabbed Joker's arm wrapped it around his neck and boosted him up. Another explosion rocked the ship. Shepard spun around and saw a massive fiery ray blast through the ship behind them. She nodded to Garrus and they headed toward the cockpit's private evac pod. It was the only way left for them off the ship. If survival was an issue… that is. And it was.

Garrus helped Joker into the pod, made sure he was firmly strapped in. He turned around to help Shepard and another fiery blast hit the ship. The concussion sent Shepard flying back from the pod. He ran towards her, saw her hand go up. She flung him back and put up a barrier field at the pod entrance.

He erupted…anger and rage at what he felt was a betrayal boiled out of him. He hurled himself at the barrier, beating at it, clawing it in desperation. He saw her crash against a wall. She pushed off, grabbed onto the corner of the release console, blew him a kiss, and slapped her hand over the eject pad. The doors on the pod slammed shut. All he had left was a tiny view window. He watched in horror as she was thrown against the side of the ship and blown out into space. Her body bucked and heaved, her air valve damaged, venting into space. She went still…The barrier field winked out…and she disappeared from his view as the Normandy exploded into a fiery mass of shrapnel.

His heart shriveled and he sank into a boneless heap as their pod was buffeted by the concussive waves of the Normandy's detonation. They were a team. They were supposed to be in this together…not apart. She took that choice away from him. He might have been able to save her or he might have joined her. But it should have been his choice to make. Not hers. He sighed. He didn't even have the strength to be angry at her. He knew, deep in his heart, that had their positions been reversed he'd have done the same damn thing to protect her. Silent tears fell, overflowing his protective eye plate and ran unheeded down the sides of his face. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing.

When she was propelled away from the evac pod she knew Garrus would come for her. He always did. With a sadness that broke her heart she sent a wave of power at the man she loved and pushed him back into the pod. She threw up a barrier field to keep him there. She knew how angry he would be, but she had to protect him from his good intentions. She was lost. He was not.

Another blast propelled her into a wall. She shook her head to clear it and made a mad grab for the release console. She took one last yearning look at him and mouthed I love you. She realized he couldn't see her mouth, so brought her hand to her helmet, where her mouth would be and sent him a farewell kiss.

Her hand slapped down on the eject pad as another blast caused the console to slip from her hand. She was slammed against the torn hull and propelled into space. She looked around at the debris and destruction around her. Perhaps rescue ships would arrive before her air gave out. She was, after all, no stranger to good luck.

Her suit's built in computer started sounding an alarm. She ran diagnostics on her helmet's internal display. But she knew the problem before the diagnosis was completed. Her oxygen supply was venting. The air was getting thinner and it was becoming more of an effort to breath. She recorded a last message. "I am Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, captain of the Normandy SR1. The Normandy was destroyed by an unknown vessel, its crew jettisoned in escape pods. Please see that my remains are returned to the Council or the Alliance. To the Council and the Alliance: The Reapers are coming, be prepared at all costs. To my friends and crewmates: live well and be true. To Garrus: be strong and know that I love you. I have always loved you." She gasped and let out a ragged breath. "This is Commander Shepard signing off for the last time." The last words were wheezed out.

She reached behind her trying to get to the air hose. Maybe if she could cover the damage…but it kept slipping from her grasp. Her body began to buck and heave, contorting her in its fight to pull in air where was none left to be had. She knew deep in her bones that _reset_ wasn't going to cut it this time…when she died she _might_ heal…but there would be no do-overs…some points in life were anchors…a pivotal event that was immovable and this was so immense..so vast…it felt like an anchor.

She did not want the last thing she saw before leaving this world to be the sight her Normandy as nothing more than chunks of floating debris. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her last thoughts on Garrus. His head cocked, mandibles spread…she could remember how they felt against her…butterfly wings…black dots appeared on the edges of her vision, funneling inward until all that was left was a pin-point of light that winked out.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 5.5

The 2 Year Interim

Legion

They had come to a consensus. The geth had been watching organics since the Morning War, monitoring and decrypting data channels. Of late one organic had become legend to the geth. A unit needed to be sent outside the Persius Veil to search for the organic that fought the heretics, the one that brought down the Old Machine, Nazara. Finding this organic was a top priority and maybe the only hope they had to survive the coming of the Old Machines.

The platform created was stronger than a standard trooper, but not large like a destroyer or a prime. It needed to be able to communicate directly with organics if it had to do so. It also needed to be able to operate on its own without having to be networked, since it would be far from any networked hub. Within this platform they installed 1,183 programs. Normally only 100-200 programs were installed per unit. This unit would be strong and be able to function independent of the collective.

The geth Unit's prime objective was to explore the trail of Shepard Commander and try to discover what happened to her. Its first stop was Eden Prime, where Shepard Commander fought many heretic geth and according to data found, had interacted with a working Prothean beacon. The Unit knew the colony had been terrorized by the heretic geth and stuck to cover as best it could. It did not wish to start an altercation with any remaining colonists or the Alliance guards sent to protect them. It put up a field dampener to help hide its synthetic signature from military radar, and used its optical camouflage. It moved at night and kept any telltale lights off, relying instead on infrared lighting and a form of sonar to find its way. It made its way to the beacon and scanned the shattered remains. Very little data was retrievable, but it would decrypt what it found later.

The Unit boarded its small vessel and departed the planet and routed a course to Therum. Therum, it discovered was a destroyed Prothean dig site. As such it could not make its way into the ruins to find any further significant information in regards to Shepard Commander or the archeologist T'Soni Doctor. It only had the encrypted report Shepard Commander had sent the organic Council. It touched down on a few worlds Shepard had stopped, but located nothing of significance.

The Unit programmed its next stop at Feros. Its ship was too tiny and insignificant for most military radars to pick up. Still, to be safe, it dropped from its ship directly onto Feros near the Exo-Geni facility. It would call its ship down to it when it was ready to leave. It dampened its signature, camouflaged itself, hacked into a side door, slipped into the facility and darted into the first unoccupied room it could find. It located a terminal and hacked into the Exo-Geni mainframe and uploaded the files on the Thorian and Zhu's Hope. It slipped back outside the facility and signaled its ship for extraction. It did brief recon on a few more worlds with little new information turning up.

Next stop along Shepard Commander's Journey according to reports sent to the Council was Noveria. It dropped from its ship just outside of Peak 15. It made contact with the station VI Mira. It hacked the VIs interface and discovered the route Shepard Commander took. It also found further information on the rachni, the queen, and several deactivated geth bodies that were being held in one of the labs for examination when the labs opened back up.

After arrival it maintained its dampening and camouflage, slowly made its way past the guard station and into the facility. There were no organics about. The labs had not yet been reopened after the rachni infestation and subsequent neutron purge. It made its way through the secure labs and hot labs, scanning everything it came across. It then made its way to the secret, top security labs, hacked his way in, recalibrated the drones and placed several grenades in the room housing the geth bodies. It set detonation for 20 minutes. It hacked into one more room and placed more grenades around the remaining rachni eggs. It hoped it hadn't missed anything, but it had no more time to explore. It vacated the labs and signaled its ship for a pick up. It stopped at another couple of worlds, found nothing of relevance and plotted a course to Virmire.

Unfortunately, Virmire, like Therum, at least the part he needed access to had been damaged by an explosion. This explosion had been massive. The reports that had been decrypted did not mention the extent of the damage caused by the explosion. There would be no information obtainable on Virmire.

According to records that had been accessed, Shepard Commander's next stop had been the Citadel. While valuable information might be attained there, at this time the Unit did not deem the stop a viable option, as it would be a severe risk to the platforms' hardware.

Its next destination would be Ilos. No enemy signatures could be picked up on Ilos. Since its ship was small it flew it through the archive doors and followed her route along the waterway passages in its ship. It stopped and accessed the Prothean VI known as Vigil. Vigil was unwilling to answer any questions at first due to the Unit's synthetic nature. It explained to the VI that it sought to join Shepard Commander in her fight against Old Machines, the Reapers. It then agreed that it would supply answers, but it would not allow direct interface. Legion accepted the VIs protocols and did not do a force hack. Once it obtained information the VI had given Shepard it returned to its ship and reversed it trail back through the archive doors. It knew it would never be able to travel the Conduit to the Citadel, to do so would culminate in its extermination.

It plotted a course to Alchera, the Normandy SR1's crash site. It located the ship's memory banks, used its own energy to power it up long enough to upload information concerning the attack. It found nothing more of value and signaled its ship for a pick up. As it was set to leave the planet behind the ship picked up a channel being used nearby while it was doing its constant frequency scanning. Unit tuned into the channel and heard Shepard Commander's name. It programmed a wide search pattern and his scan located a ship's signature on an orbiting asteroid. It landed away from the ship, dampened its signature and enabled its optical camouflage. It approached the ship and heard the organics talking about finding Shepard Commander's body. Unit was not sure if the target was functional or not, but it had found what it had been looking for. It entered the ship through the cargo hold door, found a mostly empty cargo crate and folded itself inside.

From within the confines of the crate it could hear the organics speaking and felt the thump of something heavy being placed nearby. As the talking faded to nothing it could hear the thrum of the ship's engines. It scanned the room, no life signatures; it unfolded itself from the crate and placed a small locater button on the container that had just been delivered. It folded itself back into the crate and began its wait. It felt the eerie quite as the ship sped through the mass relay and the return of the engine as it shot out of the destination relay. It heard the scraping as the ship docked with a larger one. Then it heard a closer scraping noise as they hauled away the large container they had deposited near him earlier. If that was indeed Shepard Commander, then it needed to acquire her. If Shepard Commander's platform was no longer active, it needed to bring her back to the collective, where we would attempt to bring her platform back online or provide her a new one.

When it grew quiet again, Unit opened the crate and unfolded itself. It unsnapped its gun, dampened itself. It left the ship and scanned the larger ship. It was on the Shadowthrone, a Shadow Broker courier frigate. It checked the locator signal and then camouflaged itself and headed for the last location of the signal. While camouflaged it could not accurately scan. I ascended a staircase to the second level. It could hear gunfire.

"Red Alert - All troops to the second level, I repeat all troops to the second level. Hostile intruders - shoot on sight. I repeat – shoot on sight."

Unit proceeded down a corridor and entered a room on the right. It needed to scan the area, since it could not effectively do so camouflaged. It popped into view and started its scanning sequence. The door burst open and an asari rushed in and closed the door behind her. She must have heard its movements because she spun around gun drawn.

They faced each other, guns raised. Unit recognized the organic as T'Soni Doctor. "T'Soni Doctor, Normandy crew." Unit stated.

"You can speak?" She asked, stating the obvious. She shook her head. "Forget I said that. Why are you here and what do you want?" She asked it.

"We presume we are here for the same purpose you are. Retrieval of Shepard Commander's platform." It told her.

"Shepard was my friend; I know why I want her body, why would a geth want her body?" Liara asked.

"Shepard Commander fought the heretics; Shepard Commander destroyed Nazara. The geth want to join Shepard Commander to stop the Old Machines." It stated.

"What are the heretics ? What is Nazara? And by old machines do you mean the Reapers?" Liara questioned.

"Heretics were geth that chose to leave the collective and fight alongside the Old Machines. Nazara was the Old Machine Saren Arterius named Sovereign. Correct the Old Machines are what the Protheans called Reapers." It explained.

"Even if you wanted to ally with Shepard, it is moot, Shepard was killed when the Normandy was attacked and destroyed by the Collectors." Liara said.

"Shepard Commander's platform will be given to the Collective. We will reactivate her platform or provide her a new one." It said.

"I don't think so." Liara said angrily. "Shepard is coming with me. Cerberus has agreed to use the best scientists, the best doctors and all the credits needed to bring Shepard back." Liara told it.

"Cerberus? That is conceivable. Shepard Commander is human. Cerberus is a human organization. Computing consensus. 78.2 % agree Cerberus would be an acceptable means to reactivate Shepard Commander's platform. This unit would aid in retrieving Shepard Commander." It told her.

"You want to help me? You will let me take her body?" Liara clarified.

"Correct." It stated.

"I do not trust you. I will be watching you. But I will not turn down help right now. I also have a partner, his name is Feron, he's a drell." She told him, putting away her gun.

"Acknowledged." It said.

The door burst open again and slammed shut. The drell's gun aimed at Unit.

"Feron, No! This geth is on our side. It wants to help find Shepard and return her to Cerberus." Liara told him.

"Are you crazy? Why would a geth want to do anything more than kill us all?" Feron asked incredulously.

"We want to join with Shepard Commander to fight the Old Machines. We will provide assistance with the platform recovery. We have agreed to allow Cerberus to reactive Shepard Commander. Shepard Commander is needed to defeat the Old Machines." It told him.

"It talks too?" Feron asked, his mouth agape. "I don't trust it." He said decisively.

"I don't either, but we are not in a position to be picky here. We need her body and it is willing to help us."

"Fine. But I'll be watching it." Feron grumbled.

"We know where Shepard Commander is. Her platform is located on the third floor en route to the cargo bay hold." It stated.

"How do you know that? We just came from there. That is where our ship is." Liara said.

"We infiltrated the ship that found her platform. We placed a locator beacon on the container transporting Shepard Commander's platform." It explained.

"They must have taken another route to the hanger bay. We need to get there before she is moved to another ship!" Liara exclaimed.

"Automatic flight weapon deployed," Unit said as it launched a drone. They unsnapped their guns and proceeded out of the room; they hooked a right and entered a larger chamber, where they were ambushed by a large contingency of mercenaries. Liara shot out a singularity lifting several into the air. The drone attacked anyone in cover, making them easy targets to eliminate. When they cleared the room they continued down the corridor at the opposite end of the room. They took the stairs up to the third floor and headed for the cargo bay. The signal was accurate. When they entered the cargo bay they ducked behind some nearby crates.

A large collector and a large salarian, Feron said was named Tazzik, stood next to Shepard's container. They were surrounded by several mercs. Feron told Liara that no matter what happened she must escape with Shepard's body and the data OSD. He tossed his gun to her and ambled over to the salarian. He informed them that he just came from the Shadow Broker and the collector was not to have the body until he paid in full.

The collector was furious. Its master jumped into the body of another collector that had been stationed near another port that could communicate with the Shadow Broker. It learned Feron was the traitor. When it told Taz what had happened Taz turned on the Feron. Feron yelled for Liara and the geth to attack.

While Liara was throwing around biotics, the geth unit camouflaged and carried Shepard Commander's platform to the ship. It activated the small ship and wondered where it was to place the container; it was too large for the ship. Legion pulled his sniper and began laying cover fire for Liara. Liara ran to the container, opened it, removed Shepard's armor and put a stasis field around her to keep her body preserved. Liara turned to the geth and yelled, "Now!" She began discharging her biotics again to give the geth cover while it picked up the body and carried it into the ship. It secured it in a containment field and returned to cover Liara.

Taz saw what was happening and charged for Liara's ship. Feron yelled for them to leave now while they still could. He attacked Taz, who sent him flying into a far wall. He didn't move. The Geth unit moved in closer to the large salarian, spraying bullets at it. Taz pulled his rocket launcher and fired at the geth. The rocket punctured the geth and detonated against the far end of the cargo bay. The unit screamed and went down. Liara looked sadly at her two helpers and closed the hatch of the ship. When the cargo bay doors opened, she flew out of the ship's belly. The injured collector had been sucked out into space before the cargo door could close again.

The geth had dragged itself to a corner behind a crate; it watched Liara leave with Shepard Commander before it shut itself down to do some internal scanning and repair.

When it was functional it reactivated itself. It scanned the cargo bay. It was alone. It noticed Shepard Commander's armor. Its face plates flapped. It needed to feel close to her and it did not know why. It used parts of her broken armor to cover some of its damage. It knew it could find better materials to cover all of its damage, but it also knew it could not part with Shepard Commander's armor. It knew it was illogical and an inefficient source for repair, but it kept it anyway.

Unit dampened its signature and camouflaged itself. It moved from floor to floor eliminating the crew aboard the ship. By the time it completed its grisly task, the ship was too damaged to be used as transport. It proceeded through the other two cargo bays and located an acceptable escape vehicle down at cargo bay one. When he exited the Shadowthrone, its search began anew, to find Shepard Commander and Cerberus.

It searched for nearly two years before it found an encrypted communication between Cerberus agents mentioning Shepard Commander and Freedom's Progress. It located a Cerberus vessel signature and dropped down from its ship. A wave of electricity hit it and it darted behind the shuttle. "Shepard Commander we come in peace. Please hear us out. We will then surrender our platform to any restraints you deem necessary." It said. It had finally met its objective.

Liara

Liara was devastated with the loss of her best friend and secret love. Shepard had been so easy to love, but so hard to let go of. In fact, she couldn't let go. Finding Shepard's body became her sole mission in life. Even if her friend was dead, she still needed that closure. She'd sent feelers out everywhere. She'd finally found an information broker that was willing to give her information on Shepard. She had arranged to meet him on Omega. She knew only that he was a drell and that his name was Feron. There was a wee bit of trouble with the mercs she paid to take her to Omega, but nothing she couldn't handle. Being with Shepard had taught her so much about who she was and what she was capable of. Being without Shepard taught her just how far she would go for the people she cared about. Dead or alive.

Figuring the best place to root out information would be the bar, so she made her way to the Afterlife bar. She asked an elchor at the bar if he knew anything of Commander Shepard. He was miffed that she would think he did and sad that Afterlife wouldn't allow the elchor to be dancers, as they were very good at dancing. A hooded drell told her talking to the elchor was like talking to a tree. Liara recognized him and he told her they needed to speak somewhere more private. Once they were outside, Feron grabbed her and pulled her behind a partition. He told her they were being followed. He also told her that Shepard was dead. She was devastated anew, but wouldn't accept it until she saw the body with her own eyes.

As they began their journey they were attacked by a group of blue sun mercs working for the Shadow Broker. An unknown sniper took out the krogan next to Liara and she sprang into action sending biotic waves at the mercs. She followed Feron down a few passages until they ran right into another armed group. This group, however, did not wish to kill them. The woman introduced herself as Miranda and told her they wanted to find Shepard's body and bring her back from death. Liara and Feron followed the group to a more secure area of Omega, because Miranda's boss wanted to meet with Liara. The Illusive Man (TIM) told her that the Shadow Broker wanted Shepard's body to sell to the Collectors. Since Liara had been so close to Shepard he knew she would stop at nothing to get the body. So, he wanted her on his team. She was horrified to learn about the collectors and agreed to work with him on the premise that he would indeed do everything he could to bring Shepard back from death…just as she had been…but she made it clear she was doing it for Shepard - not for him.

Between TIM's and Miranda's play on words and the weird coincidence of Feron being the only one who knew she was looking for Shepard and suddenly a whole gang of thugs knew…she put the facts together and realized he was an agent of the Shadow Broker. While she was pissed at him and showed him the hard way just how pissed she was, she decided he was still her best chance to get to Shepard.

They talked to Aria, the Boss of Omega, and discovered Shepard had been taken to the bowels of Omega, in the old mining processing plant. They hopped his ship and flew down to the lower levels, since that was the fastest way to get there. After they landed another ship came in to dock. Feron was shocked to see it was a huge salarian, Tazzik, that worked for the Shadow Broker. Feron said he would use a defense turret to take out Taz's ship, but missed with his aim. Taz shot off a grenade at them and flew out the airlock when they were distracted by its detonation.

They mase it back to Feron's ship and headed out after Taz and Shepard. They would be hitting the Omega 2 relay. Feron knew just where they're going. The Shadow Broker had a large freighter, the Shadowthrone, stationed near the relay. The Shadowthrone asked what business he had and he informed the operator that he had immediate information he needed to relay to the Shadow Broker. The operator acknowledged his credentials and allowed him to dock. They put down in cargo bay three.

He was able to get Liara through the security checkpoint by passing her off as a prisoner. He took her to the Shadow Broker's hub, where they were able to converse with him through an interface. He was angry that Feron arrived without an invitation. Liara took over the discussion with the Shadow Broker as Feron used a terminal to upload all the Shadow Broker's business orders that he could onto an OSD. As soon as the upload was complete Liara detonated the interface in a biotic fury. She demolished the hub center. They took off at a run; they ran into a door on the left and discovered a geth unit who sought to help them recover Shepards' body. They didn't trust it, but help was help right now. The geth had planted a bug on Shepard's container and it led them to her body. He'd aided them in a couple of battles against the Shadow Broker agents and helped her load Shepard's body onto the small ship, but like Feron, he fell before the ship could fly out of the hangar. She had Shepard and the data, but she lost two helpers in the process.

She contacted Cerberus and arranged a meeting to give them Shepard's body.

"The body is not in as good a shape as we had hoped, but the boss is hopefull about Shepard's prospects. We are pouring everything we've got into this project, but I fear it will take a very long time. There is a lot of damage we must overcome. Find something else to focus on; we will alert you when we have success." Miranda told her.

Miranda was right, she couldn't sit around here forever waiting…she had another friend and a geth to rescue…or vengeance to enact…hopefully both.

Time and research led her to Illium. It was the best place to get or do just about anything. She used the information on the OSD and began slowly gathering more intel. Her goal was finding the Shadow Broker. Her new job as an information broker was going to pave the way. She discovered she had a knack for information gathering. At times she missed the thrill of an archeological dig and the privacy it awarded her, but too much was at stake now, her life had turned a corner, and she wasn't sure she would ever again be the girl she used to be before the Normandy blew up and took Shepard with it.

After a nearly two years, Cerberus finally contacted Liara and told her of their success. Shepard was alive. Liara sat stunned. It wasn't true. It couldn't be. It had been too long. She wouldn't…couldn't believe it until she saw her for herself. She was stubborn like that. A couple of months later when the port officials notified her that the Normandy SR2 was docking and Shepard was aboard, she paid all their fees and waited eagerly for the ghost of her friend to walk through her door. When her door did finally open, Liara turned around; her mouth fell open in surprise. "Shepard," she said and they embraced. "My sources said you were alive…but I never believed…it is so good to see you again."

Garrus

Garrus was a shell of the man he'd been. Watching the woman he loved die, unable to help her or join her destroyed him. He didn't care about anything anymore. When the pods were collected he boarded the ship without saying a word to anyone. The ship took them to the Citadel and on automatic pilot he did the only thing he knew anything about. He went to C-Sec. Anything else…going home… training for the Spectres… was more than he could even comprehend right now. He performed the duties expected of him, did his paperwork and went to bed. In some ironic way, during the next 16 months he became the prime example of a C-Sec officer. Even his dad was proud of how much he'd changed. If his dad only knew the truth he'd blow a gasket.

Garrus had fallen in love with a human…and worse she was a Spectre. The loss of the woman he'd claimed as his mate left him this morbid, empty shell that his father was so proud of. Some distant part of him sparked. The spark grew to a crescendo of anger, fury. He wanted to scream the truth to his father. Rub his nose in it. He wanted to grab the stick from his father's ass and beat him with it. But he didn't do any of that… after that initial burst of anger, it subsided.

But there was one thing that spark did for Garrus…it didn't go out.

Over the next four months that spark gradually grew. Garrus started to feel again. To him that was not necessarily a good thing. He felt the pain over her loss. He felt anger that the Council…even the Alliance swept everything related to Reapers under the rug. They didn't want them to exist, so they didn't. Everything Shepard had worked to accomplish had been undone. Everything his woman did for the galaxy…for the Council all but forgotten. More than anything…their casual dismissal of his mate, a woman who gave everything she was for them…fanned that spark into a flame. Once the flame burned bright the red tape he faced in C-Sec began to bother him again. It was getting harder and harder for him to go along with C-Sec rules and regulations. They had bothered him in the past and he'd chafed under them. Working with Shepard had changed his outlook; he had become a more rational and level headed man. But, her loss tore a hole in him he could not recover from. The beast within him had a new outlet and it becoming harder to keep it locked away…because it _really_ wanted to come out and play.

He began roughing up the criminals harder than he used to. C-Sec could no longer turn a blind eye. His record started to tarnish and eventually blacken.

A local drug dealer his father had released several years ago was once again a prime suspect in several crimes. C-Sec had nothing on him and it looked like he would walk again. Garrus had enough. He submitted his resignation, walked out the door of C-Sec HQ and didn't look back. He walked straight down to the lower wards, grabbed the drug dealer by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

"You can't do this…you're C-Sec…I have rights!" The man screamed.

"Not anymore, Kishpaugh. I'm free to break the law just like you…and I'm looking for a reason to do it!" Garrus growled. "That poison you push – where do you get it?"

"Omega! It all comes from Omega!" he cried out.

Garrus slammed his head into the ground and walked away. The scum was lucky all he'd have was a headache.

Omega was where he was going. When he arrived at his destination and entered the port door he was immediately greeted with a vorcha holding an elderly woman at knife point demanding more money or he would kill them both. The old man pleaded it was all they had, but the vorcha didn't care. Garrus stepped up behind the vorcha and snapped his neck. The vorcha fell at his feet, he bent down and retrieved their savings and he kicked the vorcha away from them.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" He asked gently as he handed them their money.

"Thank you…thank you so much… we came here to find our son…You are an angel, sir. A real-life angel."

"Something like that." Garrus said as he watched them go.

Garrus walked into the Afterlife bar. He had just sat down for a drink, when a turian was thrown to the ground by a bloodpack krogan, who threatened to drink out of the turian's skull. Garrus charged the krogan, slammed into him and sent him flying. He helped the turian to his feet. The krogan wasn't so pleased to be tossed on his ass, so he rounded up a few friends to teach the blue armored turian a lesson.

Garrus' mandibles spread wide. Things were just starting to get fun. The turians took down the four thugs, grabbed a drink and headed to a nearby room to talk about Omega. They discussed the crime problem on Omega and decided they would band together and create a team to take out the gangs.

"We start hitting the gangs where it hurts, Sidonis…prove we can get things done, and people – good people – will start lining up to join us." Garrus told him.

And that is just what happened. As the reputation of Archangel spread, the squad grew. He had a salarian explosives expert, a batarian tech expert and various others: former C-Sec, security, and military, as well as mercs that wanted to atone joined up. There were twelve in all.

They were careful to take the fight to the mercs and gangs, no civilians were to be harmed. He did not want to become who he hunted. He would do that much for his Shepard.

They spent months cleaning up Omega…taking the trash out and raking in the credits while doing so. The three major merc bands started working together to end the Archangel group. Unfortunately, between the money and the increased danger, the team was burning out. They'd taken down a lot of evil people, felt they'd done their share of good deeds and just wanted to live the rest of their lives without death.

But, the beast was loose and Garrus couldn't reign him in. He wanted more…needed more…wanted it all. Omega purged of all crime. The one thing that he couldn't comprehend was that Omega would never be free from crime. It _was_ crime…its heart and soul black with it. He pushed his team harder, demanded more. Refused to listen to what they needed. Their moral was faltering, but Garrus couldn't see it. Wouldn't see it.

Garrus received a comm from Sidonis. The bloodpack was running guns and he needed Garrus to come down to the Kenzo District and help him clean it up. Garrus, always eager for the fight leapt at the chance. When he arrived there, no one was about. Not the bloodpack and not Sidonis. Something was dreadfully wrong. He hurried back to his headquarters, by the time he arrived the mercs had bombed his headquarters and swooped in to kill any of his team left alive…there were only two surviving at that point, but there were too many mercs to save them, no matter how many he took down. He tore into the mercs that had slaughtered his team. Those that got away from him he hunted down. Then he began to hunt down the rest of the mercs, but his luck couldn't hold out forever. Eventually they found his new base.

He had no place left to run. The bridge that kept him relatively safe from the mercs also kept him from leaving. He was trapped. He thought back to all the things Shepard had tried to teach him, all the things his dad had tried to drill into him, things he hadn't wanted to hear. Things he wished he'd taken to heart. Lessons he'd learned too late. What happened here was his fault. He couldn't apologize to Shepard; it was too late for that. But he could call his father.

"Dad."

"Garrus? Is that you? What's that noise?"

"Target Practice."

"Then call me back later." His father said briskly.

"I don't think I'll be able to…too many targets." Garrus admitted.

"I just wanted to hear your voice. And I wanted to tell you that you were right about things…a lot more than I gave you credit for." Garrus said.

"Forget about that. These targets…they're moving fast?" His father asked.

"Not yet, but they're learning." Garrus told him.

"No matter how bad things are falling apart around you, as long as you have one bullet left you can still get the job done. Understand?" His father asked. "You finish up what you need to do there and then you come on home to Palaven. We have a lot to sort out."

"Yeah, we do. Thanks, dad. For everything," Garrus said. Garrus sighted down his gun for another shot. The N7 logo popped up in his scope. N7? Alliance? He raised the scope up until it rested on the face of a ghost. No, it can't be her. She's dead. He was just seeing what he wanted to see. But N7…that was Alliance and he might just make it out of here alive after all. "I have to go now. Don't worry about me…I'll make it home when I can. The odds just go a lot better." Garrus said and disconnected from his father. When he peered back through his scope he could not find the N7 armor again. He wondered if he imagined it all. Then he heard her voice and his world stopped for just a second. He needed a moment to get himself together. He held his hand up and sighted down the barrel and took the head off a merc that had sneaked in.

"Archangel?" She asked.

He removed his helmet and turned to face her. He had to see her. He had to touch her. He had to know she was real. He walked up to her, studied her face. She smiled at him and he was lost. No one had a smile like that. This was his Shepard. Somehow. Alive. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I thought you were dead." He said, barely able to squeeze the words from his tight throat.

Tali

Tali was heartbroken after the destruction of the Normandy. She had stayed on with Shepard longer than she had planned because she had grown close to those she served with and more specifically to Shepard. She also wanted to see the rest of the geth that supported Saren wiped out. If she could find out anything about the Reapers while she continued her journey with Shepard, it would be all the more she could return to the flotilla with.

When she saw the Normandy explode in a fiery mass of shrapnel and found out that Shepard had not survived after their pods were recovered, she went home to the flotilla with a heavy heart.

She had wanted to join the Neema, so she presented her information concerning the geth to Admiral Han'Gerrel, the captain of the Neema. Han'Gerrel was her father's best friend and he was so proud of what she had accomplished during her pilgrimage. Not only had she found badly needed information on geth upgrades, but she was also part of the team that defeated Saren and his geth, saved the Citadel from Sovereign, and stopped the Reapers from invading the galaxy. Han'Gerrel had been ecstatic to welcome her aboard his ship.

Tali was given a coming out party of sorts, where she was presented with her new, adult environmental suit. Her name was on everyone's tongue. Everyone knew of her exploits and what she and the rest of the Normandy crew had done for the galaxy. She often found the attention too much and sought out a quiet place. She had come to love the quiet aboard the Normandy as much as she loved the hustle and bustle of the flotilla.

With her newfound respect she was allowed to lead missions to help the flotilla and it denizens. The latest mission she had been given involved Veetor'Nara, a young man who had gone missing on his Pilgrimage. He was last seen on Freedom's Progress, where he had been helping the colonists. Tali and her team arrive to find the colony eerily deserted. They quickly discovered the security mechs were active and hunting them. Something was seriously wrong for the mechs to turn on non-hostile people. She did not believe they were alone.

She briefly caught sight of Veetor in the distance. He appeared injured. She called to him but he ignored her and ran off. They lost him amongst the buildings. She suspected Veetor had programmed the mechs to attack. But why? And what were they protecting him from?

They moved into one of the buildings to coordinate the search for Veetor. The doors burst open and a familiar face with two armed Cerberus soldiers stepped in.

"Shepard…but you're…is that really you?" Tali asked in shock.

Wrex

After the destruction of the Normandy, Wrex - in honor of Commander Shepard, returned to Tuchanka to do the one thing she'd asked of him. To return home and help his people. She had told him his people needed to be united under a single, strong ruler that could lead them into a new era. An era where krogan could be respected again as they had first been after the rachni war. An era based on growth… not fighting…not war. It was time for the krogan to be a part of the galactic community rather than apart. He would do this for her, for himself, and for his people.

Despite the loss of the genophage cure, he had come home a hero. He saved the fate of the krogan, stopped Seran, defeated Sovereign and saved the galaxy. Not to say that taking control was easy, taking control is always bloody…but the favoritism and respect that he earned for the part he played went a long way in the hearts and minds of the krogan.

Once he had control of his own clan, through the disposal of the worthless current clan leader, his clan opened their arms and hearts to him. The first thing he did as the ruler of Clan Urdnot is get word to the female clans that he wished to garner treaties with them. One by one the female clans joined up with Clan Urdnot. They were impressed with his forward thinking plans and they wanted to be a part of the new krogan society. A society Wrex was willing to let the females have a say in…help build it. He listened to their ideas and incorporated many of them into his restructuring plans.

After he won the hearts and minds of the female clans he began to slowly spread out his control. He began with the smaller clans, many of which fell in with him with little to no carnage simply for his protection and the fact that the female clans were in favor of him.

Within 24 months he had at least 85% of the clans backing him and his new ideals. Some of the clans were grudgingly there, but there nonetheless. He was deep in discussion with a disgruntled clan leader when Shepard strolled into his line of sight. He jumped from his 'throne'. "Shepard!" He grunts and laughs in pleasure. "Shepard! My friend!" He pumps her hand enthusiastically unable to believe she was alive and before him. "It is good see you again. Welcome to my home...to Techanka."

Kaidan

After the pods were recovered and Kaidan was debriefed he was promoted to Staff Commander for his duty aboard the Normandy and helping to bring down Seran. But he was devastated over the loss of his Commander. He should have stayed behind. He should have saved her. He should have been with her in the end. He had loved her with all his heart and he had walked away from her, saved himself…leaving her to die alone. It didn't even matter that she'd ordered him to go. The woman who had given everything to everyone every day of her life was tossed from the bowels of the Normandy into a living nightmare, endured alone…suffered alone…died alone. He didn't even have her body to mourn. It was like she never existed. Even the Council and Alliance were shoving all her warnings under the rug, even her name was gathering dust. It wasn't right.

Kaidan spent the next 3 months in counseling, trying to get over his survivor's guilt…to move on with his life. Shepard was easy to love…but a hell to get over. When he was ready the doctor signed off on his active duty release he was assigned to the SSV Trafalgar. He spent 14 months in service on the frigate, throwing himself into every mundane mission, like he didn't care if he came out of it alive. He didn't take stupid chances, he tended to be cautious by nature, but he was driven now. He had to keep working, the tougher the mission the better. He had to use his brain…he had to use his body…he had to give 125%...he had to. Maybe it was his way of eradicating his demons. Maybe in some way he was trying to be Shepard…his way of trying to hang on to her memory…keep it alive. Hard to know for sure, the mind was a slippery thing.

After more than a year of service aboard the frigate, Councilor David Anderson recalled him to the Citadel. For the next seven months he was given more difficult missions, eventually classified missions. He earned many commendations. During this time some of Kaidan's friends finally talked him into trying to get out there and start dating again. He eventually began getting to know Dr. Michel on the Citadel. She was not adventurous…she was not Shepard, but he was beginning to feel that maybe there could be a life after Shepard. Not the life he imagined, but a life he could at least be content with and perhaps even happy with.

After those seven months Anderson assigned him to an undercover classified mission on Horizon to find out if Cerberus was responsible for the colonist abductions. He was on Horizon overseeing the building of the Guardian Turrets to protect the colonists as part of an outreach program. Within two months of being on Horizon he discovered two things in a single day. One it was the Collectors that were abducting human colonists and two that his world tilted on end when he saw Shepard alive and well.

He had to touch her…had to know she was real. He walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms. Feelings he hadn't felt in years hit him like a ton of bricks. The woman he had loved more than life itself was alive and had never bothered to contact him. Not only that he had discovered she was working with Cerberus, a terrorist group, a traitor to the Council and the Alliance.

He was torn apart, anger, fear, love, fury at her betrayal, tore through him like a whirlwind taking reason along with it. He couldn't…wouldn't hear what she was saying. There was nothing she could say to him right now. He had to get away. He had to. He couldn't think when he was around her…and right now the woman that he loved more than anything repulsed him and that didn't sit well with him. After he'd had time to think about how he treated her, the things he'd said, he sat down and composed an email to her. He still loved her; he just didn't know what to make of her if he would ever be able to trust her the way he used to. Perhaps time would see them through this.

When Kaidan returned home with his report he was promoted to Major and put in command of the 1st Special Operations Biotic Company, a covert operations unit. After 6 months training the operatives, the squads were sent out on their independent missions and Kaidan was recalled to the Citadel. It had been just over 10 months since Horizon and his heart flipped over in his chest when he saw her walking with Anderson. She wore her hair different now, but other than that she hadn't changed a bit. His heart still yearned for her.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 6

A New Life

Time ceased to have any meaning. Darkness engulfed her. That in itself wasn't frightening, but this darkness clung to her. It was dense. It enveloped her and pushed against her. There were no sounds. No variations of light…just the thick, clingy dark. She tried to garner her power, but she had none. She ran…ran until exhaustion brought her to her knees. She gathered all her frustration, her anger, her fear, tilted her head up and screamed out into the dark expanse. The dark rolled around her, licked at her, filled her mouth, slowly forcing its way down her throat. She gagged and spit it out. There were no words to describe the taste…she shivered…but she knew she never wanted to taste it again…and feared something monstrous might have happened if…if she had swallowed.

No matter how many times she had died or lives she had lived she had never experienced this dark before. Was this what true death was? Is this what happened to people when they truly died? Were they trapped forever in this dark morass able to feel everything, know everything, but see nothing? Perhaps it was only _her_ true death…a hell she deserved for having the gifts …or curses…that she had been given. Perhaps a hell she had to face because she had stolen the lives of so many just so she could selfishly survive, like some kind of vampiric monster of old.

She knew she was a monster. But, she would like to think she'd done far more good in her life than evil. She had to believe that…though the dark seemed to belie her belief.

She felt an odd pull. The dark gripped her and held on…but the pull was too strong. She was being pulled…no, that was not right…it felt like being heaved or pushed with great force…up through a long, dark corridor...she was moving too fast to see anything…the dark began to lighten...she was hurtling towards a bright light that threatened to blind her.

She crashed into the light and was slammed by an overwhelming pain that ripped through her chest. She flung her arms out, gasping, screaming. Faces swam in and out of her vision…a man…Wilson someone called him…a dark haired woman…Miranda she thought…she could hear their words but couldn't make them out clearly. Brain activity…not ready…another dose…The pain that wracked her body gave no quarter …there was nothing but the pain...the light…then there was nothing once more…nothing but the dark, which greeted her with waiting, open arms… She shivered in fear as the dark embraced her once more….

Something shook her. Her body rocked again. The dark clung to her, but she was hurtling away. She crashed into the light and lay there a brief moment. She was stiff and sore, but the pain was gone. She moved...Ow…for the most part anyway. Her body shook again…she could make out someone talking to her. She concentrated on the voice.

"Wake up Shepard…you need to get up. We are under attack." The bodiless woman said. A voice she had heard before. The name Miranda came to mind.

She rubbed her sore face. "Your scars aren't healed yet, but you need to get up. Now. We are under attack." The woman's voice pushed at her.

She sighed, swung her legs over the side of the table and heaved herself up. Ah…she grabbed her ribs…that was not so pleasant.

"Grab the pistol from the floor and your armor from the locker," said the voice.

She looked down at her little gold dress. If she was in a hospital why in the freak show was she wearing her gold dress instead of an open back door, hideously ugly hospital gown?

"You need to hurry Shepard. Grab the pistol and your armor." The voice scolded her.

She went to the locker, retrieved her gear and suited up. She picked up the pistol, cocked it. It had no clip. Great. "What the hell am I supposed to do with it? There is no clip." She asked.

"Don't worry about that, I can see one beyond the door." A camera zoomed in on the door. "There are canisters by the door that are going to blow. Get behind cover. NOW." The voice said.

Shepard ran over to a glass partition and ducked as an explosion rocked the room and sent shrapnel flying.

"Someone has hacked security and is trying to kill you." The voice warned. "Grab the thermal clip for your gun and watch out for mechs. Any you see will be hostile."

She followed the voices instructions, ran through the doorway, grabbed the clip, loaded the gun, turned left up the stairs…flung the mech against the wall, and headed up another set of stairs. When the door at the top of the stairs opened she could hear the clanking of mechs coming towards her. She ducked behind another glass partition, blew the head off the first mech and flung a singularity and warp bomb at the 4 that entered through a side door. Mechs flew in every direction, shattering against the walls they slammed into.

She ran through the door ahead and could see through the window a YMIR mech gunning people down. She looked around, but couldn't find a way into the room. Then it didn't matter, for no one was left alive to save.

"You don't have time to play hero, Shepard...I'm trying to keep the mechs off you, but we are running out of time." The voice admonished.

She sighed…seems her life would be forever filled with bossy people…herself included, truth be told… she chuckled, turned right and headed through another door.

"I can see a grenade launcher on the ground, grab it and take out the advancing mechs."

She picked up the grenade launcher; only 3 grenades left, and snapped it to her back.

"Use the grenade launcher on the mechs." The voice said in exasperation.

"It's almost empty. I won't use it unless I have to. There may be bigger threats ahead." She told the voice. Shepard ducked behind the glass railing and tossed a singularity followed by a warp bomb, and watched the exceeding polite mechs fly to their doom. Now that was more fun than a grenade launcher. One of the mechs exploded causing a fire to erupt below.

"Take the elevator down…your shields should hold if you're quick enough getting through the fire."

Really? She thought to herself. Why was the woman treating her like she had her brain up her ass? She ran through the fire, past the door and through another door on her left. The voice crackled and sputtered...something about mechs after her…and then nothing. She hoped the woman was ok. Bossy or not, the woman had awakened her and saved her life.

She entered the first room she came to. She accessed a computer and a holo of Miranda popped up talking about a how a subjects organs were functioning and they were starting synthetic repair. Poor sot, thought Shepard.

She knew a lot of soldiers chose to be implanted to improve themselves both biotically and mechanically. But, it was not something she would ever do herself. Perhaps her views were biased, because she didn't need implants. In fact she felt like having them would hurt her. They were unnatural and she needed to connect with the energy and life around her. She was an instrument of that energy and life and synthetics stood apart from the very energy that made her who she was.

The military doctors had tried to force her into the L5x or L5n implants, saying it would improve her ability to harness dark energy and produce stronger singularities or biotic charges. She had tossed a singularity at them, watched them get sucked into it. She pulled the energy back into herself, winking the singularity out and lifted the staff into the air. She flipped the lead doctor upside down, amped up…and charged them. She pulling up a hair's breadth from the lead doctor's face, shook her head, flipped her right side up again and deposited them gently back on the ground. She turned and walked out of the room…laughing her ass off at their expressions of shock. Thankfully, she did not get reprimanded…thanks to David Anderson she was sure… nor had they bothered her again.

She moved to a safe on the wall, cracked it and accessed another computer that she found. The logs were of a man, Wilson maybe, griping about money. Nothing that would help her find out where she was, why she was here and where her crew was.

She turned left out of the room and ran up another set of stairs. She could hear an alarm going off. Someone yelled her name; she turned to see a man gunned down by a YMIR mech on the other side of a permaglass window. Is there no one on this hell hold she would be able to save?

She spotted another access terminal. There was talk about some project, Miranda being an ice-queen and me being the next favorite. What the hell did that mean? Favorite of what? She was used to people she didn't know knowing her… but, this was starting to get ridiculous…and not the good kind.

She turned left out of the room she had entered and towards the only door open to her. When it slid open she heard a man yelling and bullets flying. She ran up ducking behind the permaglass railing next to him. She tossed a warp bomb at the mech shooting at them, taking it down.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

She took in his very dark skin, his white, black and gold form fitting suit. He had a swimmers build…broad shoulders and slender hips. Odd; he acted like he knew her too. Her eyes fastened on the emblem on his suit…a warning bell went off in her head. She knew she had seen that logo before…but, where? "Why don't you tell me?" She said. "I only just woke up."

He cocked his head. "Right…I'm Jacob Taylor, a biotic and Miranda's top lieutenant; she must have been really worried to wake you up this soon."

"I'm aware this isn't the best time, but I have a few questions…I'm tired of running around in the dark." The dark…she shivered. She would never forget the dark.

"Help me get rid of these mechs and I'll play 20 questions with you all day long."

She nodded and together they made quick work mopping up the remaining mechs.

He looked at her intently. "What would you like to know?"

She looked at the man trying to gain his measure. She focused her sight. He didn't have an aura. That couldn't be right. She looked down at herself. No aura. What the hell was going on. She tried to push her aura out to connect with his…Nothing…She felt a freak coming on and took a deep breath…Calm…she told herself…Stay calm. She removed her armored glove and rested her hand upon his cheek. He started to pull back, but a hard look from her kept him still. Nothing but silence greeted her. She felt…She didn't feel like herself…she felt…alone…unable to connect with anything…anyone. She knew her powers still worked, she was as strong as ever…but this other part of her was gone.

"What the hell happened to me? To my crew? Last I remember is watching the Normandy fall."

He explained how the Normandy was destroyed and she was brought to this private space station dead as dead could be and they had spent the last 2 years putting her back together. She was the Lazarus Project…their only priority was to bring her back exactly as she had been...only with a few more bits and pieces used to drop-kick her back into life. Most of her crew survived, but it had been a long time, they moved on with their lives; no one knew where the non-alliance crew members were. To the Alliance and the rest of the galaxy she was killed in action.

2 years. Her heart constricted. So long…It was difficult to wrap her head around everything. For her it seemed no more than days, for time had been suspended in the dark. For Garrus it had been two years and he had moved on with his life…as he should have. But, it still tore her heart to pieces. Garrus…I'm so sorry. I hope you have found the happiness that you deserve.

Another worry surfaced. Bits and pieces? Implants? Cybernetics in her body? No! She would have healed; she could recover from anything if given the time…at least she was pretty sure that was the case. Either way, these parts were coming out. They were messing with her chi and that was not ok. She had to get back to the Alliance and find Dr. Chakwas. Fast.

"What is the fastest way off this station?" She asked.

Jacob's omni-tool went off; an SOS distress call came through. Wilson, one of the scientists who had worked to bring her back to life was in need of aid. They headed out through a side door, turned left down a corridor and through a far door. A few mechs were taking shots at them, but they fell quick enough. They worked their way around some piping, through a door and around the corner to another door.

Wilson frantically commed in; he was under attack...he'd been shot. She quickened her pace. Jacob yelled that we needed to head up the stairs, so she hung a left and ascended them. At the top of the stairs she swung to the left and into a small office. She accessed the computer and a halo of Miranda explained how the Lazarus Project would be deemed a failure if Shepard wasn't brought back exactly as she was. It felt weird to hear these things about herself. She departed the office and headed through a door to the right on the other side of the stairs.

They found Wilson lying on the ground; he had been shot in the leg. A dose of medi-gel got him back on his feet. He was strangely defensive. He also thought to call Miranda a traitor…odd traitor indeed considering Miranda saved her…but, that could all wait, they needed to get to the shuttle bay and off this station. And, she had people to find.

As they began to head out Jacob stopped her. He told her this was a Cerberus station. That Cerberus was responsible for bringing her back from the dead. He wanted to be honest with her; because, they had to work together to stay alive and for that he needed her trust. She shook her head. Cerberus. Damn it all. A terrorist group? She had come up against them several times in the past and they were never up to any good. What did a terrorist group want with her? She was Alliance…She was a council Spectre…both avowed enemies of Cerberus. What were they thinking?

Jacob promised he would take her to The Illusive Man, who ran Cerberus, and he could answer any questions she had. Yeah, sure…Only what he wanted me to know. "Well," she said, "If I'm not going to get any more answers here, let's go."

They went down a hall; she hacked into a datapad, received a few credits for her trouble and headed to the right down a small set of stairs. She turned right at the base of the stairs, went down a short hall and through a door on the left. Three polite mechs jumped out to greet them; she flung them against the wall and proceeded to the left and through another doorway on the right. She ran up a ramp and ducked behind a container. Mech bullets flew around her. She flung a singularity to the right and warp bombed it; leaving Jacob and Wilson to mop up the rest. She amped and charged the left doorway where more mechs were coming from. She slammed into two mechs throwing them back twisted and broken and sent a wave of power towards the remaining mechs, smashing them against the wall.

She hacked another datapad and a wall safe. This was just too damn easy. She turned around and headed to the right where the first group of mechs had come from. When they passed the door Wilson took over a console to open the way to the shuttles.

When the doors opened Miranda stepped out and shot him point blank. Shepard leveled her gun at her, not quite knowing what to expect next. Miranda said she'd shot him because he was their betrayer. He'd hacked the mechs to kill them all.

"Did he really deserve that? You can't even bring him in for questioning!" She said, scowling at Miranda.

"I wasn't going to risk it. I've put too much time and money into bringing you back. You are the only thing in this whole damn station that matters. Everyone, everything else is expendable." Miranda explained.

"She's right," said Jacob. "We all knew that signing on."

She took her gun off Miranda and put it away. "I had a bad feeling about Wilson. He was too defensive, something was off."

"Very smart Commander, not too many people could have seen through him. We need to go, my boss will want to know that you're up," said Miranda.

"Look, I know you work for Cerberus," she told Miranda.

"Ah, Jacob…you're conscience got the better of you." Miranda said, mocking him.

"I needed the Commander to trust us and she's not going to be able to do that if she thinks we betrayed her," Jacob intoned.

"We need to do some more tests," Miranda stated as they settled into the shuttle. They grilled her about her past and decisions that she made.

Apparently they need to make sure that her brain was intact and functioning. She settled back for the remainder of the journey. She thought back on her time with Garrus. She had kissed him…perhaps devoured him would be more accurate. But, what didn't happen was the pictures. Whenever she got another's dna mixed with hers, usually via a fluid exchange, pictures would flood her head. A kaleidoscope of past, present, and future. If she didn't have something exact she was looking for the pictures would overwhelm her more quickly. Often they came too fast for her to make sense of right away. The experience was always painful, sometimes delayed…if she was very _distracted_, but they never failed to come…The only thing different about that night was that she had died. Apparently, death was the only way to escape the pictures. She'd have to keep that in mind…not that she had any inclination to use that escape.

The shuttle landed at a new Cerberus station and she was directed down the stairs to meet The Illusive Man.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 7

Freedom's Progress

She passed Jacob and Miranda and turned right at the end of the room and descended down the stairs to meet The Illusive Man. She looked around the empty room. TIM was nowhere to be found. Figures. As she stepped forward onto a circular pad a holo-grid rose up around her. TIM's hologram popped into view. He was seated in a chair, cigarette in hand.

He explained that they spared no expense bringing her back to life, because she was the only thing standing between humanity and the Reapers. She was a symbol for humanity. If the Reapers didn't fear her, he felt they respected her since she brought down Sovereign. He also explained that while she was sleeping hundreds of thousands of humans, entire colonies, have been harvested.

"I brought you back," he said. "It's up to you to do the rest."

On the shuttle en route to Freedom's Progress she learned that no evidence of any kind had been left behind to explain how the colonists vanished.

After landing they progressed through an eerily empty home, down some stairs. Her lootdar went off, she located the salvage and then on through another door where they were immediately besieged by security mechs.

"Someone deliberately set them to attack...we are not alone here" Miranda stated.

They proceeded up another set of stairs and through another empty house. Nothing had been disturbed. It was like they just vanished. As they headed out the back door, her lootdar went off and more credits jumped into her eager hands. They took out the mechs that attacked and proceeded into the next building.

A small group of quarians were already there…with Tali at their head.

"Shepard…but you're…is that really you?" Tali asked in shock.

Shepard smiled at her friend. "Did the data I gave you concerning the geth help you on your pilgrimage Tali?"

Tali froze, shook her head to clear it, and assured the other quarians that she was indeed Shepard. She explained how they were there to find Veetor, one of their people here on pilgrimage. He was injured and delirious. He'd run off and programmed the mechs to attack.

They agreed that since he'd survived the attack on the colony that maybe he would be able to tell them what happened and that working together would be the best course of action to find him.

Shepard's team headed out the side door, down the stairs and into another home. She spotted a safe that begged for her attention and took out the mech protecting it. They headed out the backdoor and were attacked by a squad of flying drones. While Miranda was busy overloading them, she and Jacob decided to find out who was the best at target shooting. She won…of course. Tali notified them that her team splintered off; the other group was intent on getting to Veetor first.

As they cut through another home, she found some credits hidden in a medical kit. They proceeded out the back door and through a home across the landing. They exited through the rear and headed down another set of stairs. Before they could get to the bottom another squad of flying drones ambushed them, and another round of skeet-shoot ensued.

Tali commed warning them that Razza's group had stumbled upon a YMIR mech that was making short work of his group and that her team should get in cover before she opened the doors. Shepard grabbed more credits from a medical kit as they headed down the stairs. They took cover, commed Tali, and the doors opened. She and her team ran through the door and took cover on the other side as a YMIR was taking out the last of the splinter group.

Miranda worked on bringing down its shields while she and Jacob rained bullets into it. Miranda yelled "Now!" Shepard started casting warp bombs while the other two peppered it with more bullets. She saw Miranda fall out of the corner of her eye. Shit! She amped up, charged, slammed into the YMIR, rolled away, threw her arm up, lifting the YMIR in the air and then threw a stasis bubble at it, capturing the mech in the air. Shepard grabbed her Mattock and started pouring incendiary ammo into the suspended mech.

Shepard saw Miranda, out of the corner of her eye, get shakily to her feet. Miranda sneered at the YMIR, pulled her shuriken and gave the mech a taste of her anger. "It's gonna blow!" Miranda said with satisfaction.

They all dodged into cover and she poured more energy into the stasis bubble to try to contain the explosion. She smiled weakly at her team, who gazed on her with amazement, while she panted with the exertion. When only smoke remained in the bubble, she absorbed it back into herself and the debris rained down in a heap on the ground.

Shepard fell to one knee for a moment while the world swayed around her. Jacob and Miranda raced to her side and helped her up.

"I've never seen anything like that before Commander, are you ok?" Jacob asked in concern and more than a little bit of awe. Shepard winked at him and nodded.

"I think we should have a little talk later commander. What you just did shouldn't be possible. I'm one of the strongest biotics there is, for a human, and I couldn't have done what you just did." Miranda said matter of fact.

Shepard rolled her eyes…Ah, Miranda my sweet, how do you always manage to sound so bloody arrogant? She looked around and felt a pull…loot was nearby. She ran up a short ramp and into a home on the left. She found some power cells and a safe…she ran back out and into a home that had been to the right of the ramp, she grabbed some credits that had been stashed in a medical kit , nodded at Tali who rolled her eyes, and ran back out, heading for the last remaining building in the area. She grabbed some salvage from a broken YMIR and some Iridium then headed up the stairs.

She pulled up as she entered the building. There sat who she assumed was Veetor. He was rambling to himself about monsters and swarms, staring intently at several monitors.

"Veetor?" Shepard asked him.

"No Veetor. Must hide. So the monsters can't find him." He said continuing to ramble.

She frowned sadly, programmed her omni-tool and shut down the monitor feeds.

He turned around to face them. "Humans?" He asked in shock. "Where did you hide? Why didn't they find you?"

"We only just arrived Veetor. Can you tell us what happened?" Shepard asked kindly.

He explained about the seeker swarms, tiny robotic bugs that stung you and froze you and about the monsters that took you away. Then he showed them the footage depicting the swarms and collectors. He said he took a lot of readings with his omni tool.

Miranda said," Grab the quarian and let's go."

Tali walked into the building. "Are you crazy? Veetor is injured. He needs a doctor not an interrogation."

Shepard sighed. "Tali is right. Veetor needs help. Tali will take him back to the flotilla and send us the data on his omni-tool."

"I'm glad you are the one still giving the orders." Tali said smirking at Miranda.

Shepard turned to her squad. "I need a moment with Tali."

The quarians and humans fidgeted in discomfort as Tali and Shepard walked out the door. Miranda walked over and replayed Veetor's vid to give them all something to do. They all crowded around the monitors hoping to find something useful...anything that might help.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance Tali and Shepard hugged.

"I thought you were dead. We all did." Tali said. She shook her head. "Damn, I can't even wipe my eyes."

"I was dead Tali. Cerberus somehow got hold of my corpse and Miranda," she cocked her head in the direction of her squad, "spent 2 years putting me back together."

"Cerberus? But why are you still with them?"

"I only just woke up. They took me to meet TIM, The Illusive Man, and he explained how hundreds of thousands of humans have been abducted and no evidence was ever left behind. You know me…ever the nosy one… I had to find out what happened…and so here I am."

"What about the Alliance?" asked Tali.

"There hasn't been time. I'm still Alliance. I'm still a council Spectre…at least I think I am…but, right now I intend to use Cerberus and their vast resources to stop the Collectors and their attacks on Human colonies. I have to follow these leads, Tali, while they are still fresh and hot. Please trust me in this."

Tali looked at her friend and gave her a weak smile. "I do trust _you_ Shepard. But I worry. Cerberus cannot be trusted."

Shepard winked at Tali. "I know. Cerberus is a terrorist group. When the time comes I will take them down. But right now I need their resources. I'm sure the Alliance was devastated after their losses fighting Sovereign and the geth." Tali nodded in agreement. "Besides," Shepard said. "Any intel on Cerberus I can scrape together I will send to the Alliance and the Council."

"A spy, Shepard?" Tali asked in worry. "I hope you know what you're doing." She paused. "Please be careful." She said, giving Shepard another hug.

"Tali," she asked grabbing her friend's arm. "I need to ask you.."

"Garrus?" Tali interrupted. Shepard nodded her head.

Tali looked sadly at the ground and then back to her friend. "Garrus lost it when you died. We all took it badly…but he…he couldn't handle it. I've never seen him like that before, Shepard…it was scary. He became someone I didn't know…and then…he just disappeared. No one knows what happened to him."

Tali looked at Shepard sadly. She knew her friend was doing her best to maintain control. Tali wanted to hug her, but knew that's not what her friend needed most right now.

Shepard forced the tears back and thanked Tali for telling her. "It's been 2 years now. I hope he has found some peace, and -" her voice cracked, "been able to move on with his life."

"Have you moved on?"

"Not yet, Tali, it's only been a few days since the Normandy fell for me. I am going to send out feelers on all my old crew, at least the non-alliance crew members…if they will join me...great…if not, I will at least let them know I survived. I owe them that much."

"I will join you soon, if you'll have me that is…I just have a mission I need to finish for the admirals, then I'll request leave to join you. And…I think we both know that nothing in this galaxy would stop Garrus from joining you if he finds out you're alive. I hope you find him. He needs you." Tali said wistfully.

"Of course I'd love for you to join us. I was hoping you would. It would be nice to have people I trust at my side. Do you need help? As far as Garrus goes… It's been two years Tali…I'm sure he's moved on by now…he better have." She said unable to bear the thought that he might still be in pain over her.

"No, your mission is of far more _immediate_ importance than mine. It shouldn't take long…I will join you soon. And…Do not be so sure that he has moved on," Tali said sadly. "Two years is not so long when your heart is shattered…and you," she sighed and looked away uncomfortably…"are a hard one to get over." Tali turned and walked back towards their squads a distressed and thoughtful Shepard followed slowly.

As her team approached their shuttle, something fell and landed heavily nearby. A geth, wearing N7 armor stood up. Miranda overloaded it and it darted behind the shuttle.

"Shepard Commander we come in peace. Please hear us out. We will then surrender our platform to any restraints you deem necessary." It said.

Shepard held her hand up. "Stand down," she told her team. "Who are you and why did you come here?" She asked it.

"We are geth and we need to speak with you." It answered.

"Geth have always sought to kill me."

"We are geth and we have not tried to kill you." It responded.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Other geth have tried to kill me."

It stood up and walked towards them, arms raised. "You have not faced geth, Shepard Commander, you have faced heretics. The heretics allied themselves with Nazzara…Sovereign…Geth build their own future…the heretics asked the old machine to give them the future. We oppose the heretics. We oppose the old machines. Shepard Commander opposes the heretics. Shepard Commander opposes the old machines. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"You are asking to join us?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"Yes." It stated simply.

"Fine," Said Shepard, and held out her hand. "Welcome to my squad."

The geth held out its hand and just stood there. Shepard grabbed its hand and gave it a firm shake before releasing it.

"Shepard…do you really think this is wise, I –" began Jacob.

"Cerberus has never had the chance to study an intact geth." Miranda broke in. "I know they would be very grateful for –"

"No," interrupted Shepard. "I am not turning it over to Cerberus. It came to us for help and in turn it may be able to help us against the Collectors. I will not turn down help no matter the package it comes in."

"Thank you Shepard Commander. Your defense of this platform has been noted." It stated.

They briefly went over the swarm and Collector information, but for the most part the ride back to the Cerberus station was quiet and thoughtful.

TIM thanked her for Tali's info and she responded with," You should try playing nice once in awhile."

_"_Diplomacy is great when it _works_, but difficult when everyone _already_ perceives you as a ___threat_," He countered.

They discussed the Collectors and their connection to the Reapers. Their use of the Omega 4 relay that no one but them has been able to return from. They agreed that the Collectors have most likely turned on humans due to their significant role in bringing down Sovereign, the sleeper Reaper they had left behind when they returned to dark space after harvesting the Protheans.

"I will take down the Collectors. But I can't do it alone… at least not very easily," she quipped. "If this is to be war then I will need an army…or at least a very good team."

"From what I've been told you have already begun to build your team. I am concerned, but will trust in your judgment about adding the geth, as far as other possible recruits… I've assembled dossiers on the best. Go over them and decide who will best fit your squad. You have full discretion over who joins you. Some have already agreed to join and some will need to be found and persuaded…you are a natural leader; many will want to follow you. But I suggest you consider heading to Omega to pick up Dr. Mordin Solus first. He is your best chance at being able to counteract the Collector's seeker swarms. And…I've found a pilot. I hear he's one of the best…someone you can trust." He said as he winked out.

"Hello Commander. Fancy meeting you here…I saw you spaced."

She turned around in shock as Joker walked through the door.

"Joker, what are you doing here?" She asked, surprised at seeing him aboard a Cerberus station. She followed him as they conversed.

"Things all went to hell when you died Commander. The Alliance broke the team up, swept the Reapers under the carpet, and benched me. Hell yes I jumped at Cerberus' offer to fly again."

"You trust Cerberus?" She asked.

"Hell no...I don't trust anyone that makes more than I do…but they brought you back and they let me fly…and…there is this…" he said in awe in front of a large window. He slapped a pad and lights came on illuminating a beautiful, new ship; similar in look to her old Normandy, but much larger...The Normandy SR2 was berthed and ready…and hers. Made specifically for her. The thought was both humbling and heady.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 8

The Normandy

As she walked the CIC deck of her ship Miranda brought up the importance of getting the Salarian, Dr. Solus first. A soft, automated voice agreed. And, that was how she first met EDI the ship's A.I.; its main function was to offer advice and operate the cyber-warfare suite during combat.

She entered her cabin, accessed her computer terminal and began entering search feeds to find her former teammates.

EDI chimed in, "I can help you with those searches commander Shepard. I'm much more efficient that standard computer software."

"Good to now EDI. I am looking for my past squadmates that served aboard the previous Normandy with me."

"Scanning." She paused a brief moment. "Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko is still with the Alliance. My records show that he is currently on a classified assignment; I will attempt to uncover further information. Urdnot Wrex has returned to Tuchanka where he has become the leader of clan Urdnot. Liara T'Soni is currently on Illium. My records show she is an information broker and may be in some danger. Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya is currently out on a classified mission. I will look into this further. I have been unable to locate any information on Garrus Vakarian. He disappeared from C-Sec about a year and a half after the Normandy crew was disbanded. I will continue to search data bases for any sighting of him. Dr. Karin Chakwas is in our medbay."

"Wow, EDI, that was impressive. Thank you." She said. "And, please…just Shepard is fine. I'm a Spectre and Commander seems a little militaristic when I'm currently dead to the Alliance. Besides, this is not an Alliance ship."

"Understood Shepard…and you're welcome."

"EDI…have Joker set a course for Illium." She instructed.

"Right away…Shepard."

Shepard picked up the dossiers and settled down on the sofa. She knew she should pick up Dr. Solus first, but if Liara was in trouble, Solus could wait. They were arranged by location. Since she was supposed to pick up Solus first, the Omega files were on top. She skimmed through his dossier. The old Salarian professor was impressive. She picked up the next dossier. Archangel. There wasn't much in his dossier. He was apparently a turian and an amazing shot and currently on a merc extermination crusade on Omega. A turian…her thoughts turned to Garrus, her heart squeezing painfully. He would have to wait. She wasn't ready to see another turian on her squad yet; it was just too painful…too raw.

The next dossier was for a merc by the name of Zaeed Massani, a more colorful dossier she'd never seen. She wasn't too sure this was the type of man she wanted on her squad, but she would at least talk to him before making the call.

She sighed…she was going to Illium first, might as well see if there was anyone she needed to pick up nearby. She sorted through the dossiers and found a couple for Illium. The first was an Asari by the name of Samara, she was a Justicar according to the dossier and a powerful biotic. Shepard wasn't sure what a Justicar was, though the picture of the woman was striking.

"EDI…what is a Justicar?"

"A Justicar is a member if an ancient monastic asari order following a strict honor code. Justicars protect the innocent and punish the guilty; they rarely leave Asari space."

"Thank you, EDI."

"My pleasure, Shepard."

She wondered what would bring a Justicar so far from asari space. Whatever the reason, she was thankful for it, for Samara would make a wonderful addition to her squad.

The next dossier was also for Illium. Thane Krios. Her heart seized and then slammed painfully back into rhythm. What the hell? Why did that name sink pain and fear so deep in her that she was nearly catatonic? She shakily looked over the brief dossier. He was a drell and infamous assassin. The picture was blurry, obviously taken on the fly. From what she could tell he was a good looking man and in superb shape. But, her heart quelled and her mind recoiled at the mere thought of him. Why were her instincts screaming at her to avoid this man?

Nothing good ever came from ignoring her instincts. Perhaps this assassin would prove to be a danger to her or her mission. She would not be picking him up. They would have to make do without an assassin. Probably for the best. Assassins had no honor. They were cowardly, cold blooded killers. There was no honor given to the marks, no chance for the victims to defend their selves. Not the kind of man she wanted on her squad. She needed to trust every member of her team and she could not trust an assassin…especially one that set off every warning bell she had.

She got up, tossed the dossiers on the table and headed for the shower. While toweling dry she picked over her closet, undecided on what to wear. She felt armor and guns were too…impersonal…for a first meeting with Liara after 2 years. She wanted to face her as a friend, not the Commander. She chose a black leather dress with an attached platinum choker and a pair of small black pumps. The choker was the only thing holding the top of her dress up. She made sure it was fastened securely. Public wardrobe malfunctions were not something she needed.

She turned to the side and looked at herself in the mirror…the dress was rather flattering she admitted. You could actually tell she had breasts. Unfortunately, so many of her outfits tended to make her look…flat…sexless. Today, she wanted the confidence looking good would give her. She wrapped a magbelt around her waist and snapped her pistol to it. She wished her dress had maglocks like her armor did, the belt made for a lame accessory…totally clashed.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the pistol bulging at her side. It ruined her lines. It simply wouldn't do. She unsnapped the pistol; her favorite laser sighted Phalanx, went to her closet and exchanged it for her Carnifex. She wanted a pistol that collapsed when not in use, something that went better with her dress. She snapped it to her back where her shotgun would normally sit. She smoothed her hands down her sides and smiled. Better. Synergy…

She headed out of her cabin to get to know the rest of her crew and check in on Dr. Chakwas.

Her first stop was down to Engineering where she met Gabby and Ken. They were a neat pair, reminded her a lot of her and Garrus. She hoped they would get their shit together and realize what they meant to each other before much longer…if they didn't she would see that their eyes were opened. Time was too short to be wasted. She had learned that the hard way.

She took the elevator up to the CIC…where she got to know her new Yeoman, Kelly Chambers; a sweet girl. That she was also a psychologist would be a boon…with the mission they were heading into the crew was bound to need her. She moved on to the mess hall and met Gardner…the cook and custodian…she shivered…that thought was rather repugnant. She promised him she would look into getting him some better ingredients while she was out. This was perhaps a one way mission and she felt the crew deserved something better than slop.

She moved on to the Armory and checked in on Jacob. He had nothing to report, but was glad to be here to serve under her. She hopped the elevator down to the crew deck and checked in on Miranda. Miranda was eager to talk, filling her in on Cerberus to make her feel more comfortable and then she proceeded to tell her an interesting story of her designer genes…her father had actually designed her to be perfect. No wonder she was so arrogant…it was in her genes. Shepard stifled her laughter and thanked her for her input. One final stop…the medbay.

As she entered the medbay she nodded at the doctor and said she'd be right back and headed through the connected door to the AI core. She wanted to have another chat with the geth. She was able to learn a bit more about the geth, how they interacted with each other and the problems that caused their initial split.

She felt an odd, innate trust for the geth. She was excited to have it on her squad and was eager to spend time getting to know it better as their mission progressed. "What do I call you?" She asked the geth.

"We are geth." It replied.

"What do I call the individual in front of me?" She tried again.

"There is no individual, we are geth. There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform." It corrected.

EDI piped in, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

"That seems appropriate." Shepard said in relief. "Is it acceptable to you?" She asked the Geth.

The Geth processed a moment and then said, "Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine…We accept this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a Terminal of the Geth. We will integrate into Normandy. We anticipate the exchange of data."

Shepard held out her hand to Legion, who took it immediately this time. "Welcome aboard the Normandy Legion, we are happy to have you as part of the crew. Let me or EDI know if you need anything."

"Acknowledged," it replied as she headed out the door to return to the medbay.

It was great seeing Dr. Chakwas again. They talked about old times and what was expected on the current mission. Dr. Chakwas said she was set up well…just missed her private stocks. Shepard laughed and promised to pick her up a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy.

Karin Chakwas could see that something was bothering her friend, though she hid it well. "Tell me what I can do for you. I can tell something is bothering you."

Shepard gave the doctor a long look; then looked around the room. "EDI ban all surveillance of this room until I leave it."

"Understood Shepard."

"Dr. Chakwas…you know there are things about me that are…different." Karin nodded for her to continue. "When my corpse was picked up by Cerberus they implanted me with cybernetics to bring me back to life. They didn't know I would heal. I need those implants removed. Immediately."

Karin frowned. She flipped on her omni-tool and carefully scanned the commander's body. "I know how much you hate the idea of implants. But several of them seemed to be bored into key organs. The removal of them could prove fatal." She chuckled and shook her head. "What I mean is that it would be highly invasive and you might be down for some time."

"Understood. I still want them out. Now."

"Right now?" Asked Karin.

Shepard nodded. She laid down her gun, removed her clothing, hopped up onto one of the med-tables…and counted backwards as the meds took effect and the world slipped away. Awareness jumped up and bit her in the ass. She processed through meds too quickly to keep her down for long. She blinked and sat up. She grabbed her ribcage. Shit! That hurt.

The doctor came to stand beside her, her yellow-green aura swirling around her. Yes…sighed Shepard…I'm back. "Well?" She asked the doctor.

"It was surprisingly simpler than I imagined. The implants literally jumped in my hands. It was amazing to watch… as soon as you were opened up your body expelled the implants. No muss no fuss. I stuffed you full of medigel…though I'm sure I didn't need to and closed you back up. By the looks of things even the scars will fade in a day or two …if not sooner. If I'd had a moment longer I'd have had them processed and removed." Karins said pointing to the machine behind her.

"How long was I out?" She asked the doctor.

Before Karin could say a word Joker commed in and informed her they had clearance to land at the Illium port. Shepard's mouth fell open and Karin chuckled…"Not too long at all."

She gingerly got down from the table, looked down at the scars, pale pink and puckered. Nope, that wouldn't do…perhaps she was shallow and vain…well; ok…she _was_ shallow and vain. She walked over to the machine the doctor had pointed to.

Karin smiled and programmed the machine, which began scanning her charge.

Shepard felt a strange tingling throughout her chest and and face. It wasn't unpleasant exactly, but it was creating a deep itch as it healed her flesh.

"Hold still Shepard," the doctor chastised her.

She chuckled and put her hands at her side. She hadn't even realized she'd been scratching…scratching at an itch too deep to reach. She gritted her teeth and waited as patiently as she could for it to end...which, of course, wasn't very patient at all.

"For a woman who is used to taking so many bullets, you sure do gripe a lot about a little itch." Karin said when the machine finished the procedure and turned itself off.

Shepard gave her a crooked smile and slid back into her French cut panties and leather dress. She thanked the doctor and headed out the medbay door.

"EDI inform Legion and Jacob to meet me topside." Time to check in on Liara.

When Jacob first caught sight of the Commander near the airlock in her tight black leather dress he came to a stop and just stared.

She looked innocently at him and asked, "What?" She saw him shake his head and she smiled. "I don't always wear armor you know. I can be a woman too." She said waggling her eyebrows.

"That you can," he replied and cleared his throat. "Sorry Commander, no disrespect intended." She had been an icon to him. That she was also a woman hadn't fully registered with him. Well, that fact was glaringly obvious now and he was all too sure it was not something he would ever forget.

"No worries Jacob…none taken." She replied.

Legion looked from one to the other. "Is something wrong with Shepard Commander?"

They both laughed, and Jacob replied, "Nothing at all Legion…," he paused to think for a moment. "I just needed to reboot my system after a…umm… system overload." Jacob admitted, a blush creeping into his face.

Legion cocked its head and said, "Acknowledged."

Shepard burst out laughing then Jacob joined in as they headed into the airlock.

Legion just shook his head over the idiosyncrasies of organics.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 9

Illium

As they exited the airlock and stepped onto Illium proper a mid-riff bared asari trailed by two armed mech units approached them. Odd, she thought. She was pretty sure they hadn't broken any laws…yet.

When the asari reached them she introduced herself saying that she was the concierge instructed to help them in whatever they needed. She also told them that all docking fees were waived, Liara T'Soni had already paid them.

She learned a great deal about Illium from the concierge, including the fact that slavery, or indentured servitude, was legal here. Just about everything was legal to purchase here, trade restrictions were lax due to their need to compete with the Terminus systems. Finally, the concierge let her know Liara's office was over by the trade center.

When they entered the port's main doorway she paused, she felt an odd sensation. Was someone staring at her? Her hand touched the gun at her back as she scanned the room. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She felt a strange pull and started moving towards the shadows near the access terminals. EDI commed in, jerking her back into reality and refocusing her on their purpose. She turned back around, ignoring the odd sensations and mentally chastised herself for being jumpy.

EDI provided her with information concerning the Justicar Samara and the Assassin Thane Krios. A shiver went down Shepard's back. She had not informed anyone yet about her decision to avoid Thane. For now it was a personal matter and she needed time to sort through it. EDI suggested seeing Liara T'Soni for further information on the two. She headed up 3 steps to a landing and turned a corner and walked into the trade center.

Thane Krios was at an access terminal researching his latest assignment, when he felt an odd pull on his senses. He stepped to the side and into the shadows next to the terminal and scanned the area. He saw a woman enter into the room with a geth and man at her side. He turned his focus to the woman. She was wearing what appeared to be a tight black leather dress that flattered every part of her body. He wasn't attracted to humans, so he was uncertain why this woman was affecting him. There was just something about her. He knew he had not met her before, yet there was an odd familiarity. He was drawn to her and he couldn't fathom why.

The woman stopped and turned around, he could swear she was staring right at him. He started to feel a bit weak as she started to head in his direction and realized he had been holding his breath. It was Intriguing that he would have such a response to the human.

An automated voice began speaking to the woman and she turned her back to him. He heard his name mentioned and curiosity began to burn in his gut. Why was she concerned with him? Was she a threat to him? He needed to find out more. He blended into the shadows and followed her.

Shepard tried to ignore the annoying itch centered on her back. It felt like someone was watching her, but every time she turned around there was nothing to see. She was not one given to paranoia, so this troubled her.

She didn't get too far into the trade center when an asari woman stopped her. The woman drifted into a memory message from a _friend_ she'd made in Noveria. The friend turned out to be the rachni queen that she had set free on the condition that she disappear forever and cause no harm to the galaxy. Apparently, her friend was doing well, was very grateful, and promised to aid her when the time came to go after the Reapers. That was good news to Shepard's ears…she was more than sure that when the time came she would need all the help she could get.

The woman continued to look uncomfortable and occasionally turned around to survey the room behind her. Odd. Most beings never realized he was there…until it was too late. He listened to the asari woman who stopped her by calling out her name. Commander Shepard? Thane was stunned. He had never seen her likeness before, but he knew her name nonetheless. The woman before him was a legend…and a supposedly dead legend at that. What would a dead legend, a dead Spectre, want with him? He could not understand her interest in him. Did she somehow find out his intensions? Was she here to stop him? Kill him? And why did he feel this pull when she was around? He knew he did not have time for this, but he also knew he was powerless to walk away with so many questions as yet unanswered.

Heading further down the trade floor Shepard was once again stopped. Gianna Parasini, whom she'd help with a case back on Noveria, waved her over. Gianna was shocked, considering she thought Shepard was dead and asked her what she was doing now. Shepard responded that she was unable to go into detail at this time, her mission was currently classified. Gianna nodded her understanding, she had expected no less. Gianna looked nervously around and jumped up. She instructed Shepard to drink the beer she owed her and took off.

Shepard took the note from under the beer. It was asking her to ask a local asari vendor at Serrice Technologies about some illegal schematics she had available. Easy enough thought Shepard and she headed over to the vendor. She was able to manipulate a preferred rate from the vendor's kiosk before she asked about any special items not displayed. Parasini jumped in just as Hermia was telling her about the schematic she had available. The disgruntled vendor rushed off to talk with her lawyer and Parasini invited her back over for a talk.

Shepard headed back over to Parasini's table for a brief, friendly chat. Sometimes it felt good to think of something besides the next mission…To let go and just be able to forget about everything…if only for just a moment.

Moment's up…she sighed…time to go check on Liara. She headed up the stairs under the Administration sign. She was greeted by Nyxeris, Liara's assistant. The woman's oily smooth voice made Shepard's skin prickle. Her aura boiled with mottled reds and blacks. It was an ugly aura that screamed deception and it worried Shepard. She wanted to touch the woman to get a sense of who she really was, but the woman was wearing gloves and that negated her abilities. Shepard turned and headed into Liara's office.

Upon entry she heard Liara tell a man she would flay him alive with her mind. That did not sound like the Liara she knew and it concerned her.

Liara turned around; her mouth fell open in surprise. "Shepard," she said and they embraced. "My sources said you were alive…but I never believed…it is so good to see you again."

Shepard asked Liara to join her in taking down the Collectors, but Liara refused. She said it had been a long two years since Shepard died; there were things she had to do…debts she had to repay. Shepard sighed. She missed her old team…her friends…her lover…but they had moved on…without her…and as sad as it was, she knew she had to let go and move on too lest she drown in misery.

She asked Liara if there was anything she needed before she left. Liara asked if she would be willing to hack into some systems to help her get information she needed badly. Shepard agreed to help her friend. Why not? In for a penny in for a pound…

She headed back down the stairs; she was hit again with the sensation of being watched. She shook her head and continued through the door at the bottom of the stairs and followed it up to another trading center on the floor above.

As she was hacking the computer terminals for Laira she saw an asari that appeared to be in distress over a krogan spouting bad poetry at her. The asari confided to her their story. Shepard considered her dilemma and then explained to the asari that it was rather simple…either she trusted the krogan in which case she should believe in him or she didn't and her mind was already made up and she should let him go. The asari thanked her and gave her a discount at her kiosk. Shepard nodded and smiled as she watched the asari make up with her boyfriend. She wished everything could be that simple.

As she made her way to the other side of the trading floor another asari waved her down. It was Shiala, a woman she had saved from being the Thorian's thrall on Feros. She was here trying to help the people of Zhu's Hope. The colonists were having health issues due to the Thorian's spores and they hired a company to do some medical scans. The small print of the contract allowed the company to do invasive procedures, and if they refused they would be sued for breach and be forced to pay full price for the medical scans. Shepard assured Shiala that she would talk to the company's representative and try to help.

Shepard headed over to the representative and quickly discovered the representative had a burning hatred for aliens. Her wife and daughters were killed by the geth; her wife during the original geth uprising against the quarians and her daughters during Saren's battle on the Citadel. Shepard managed to talk the representative around by explaining that her wife and daughters had been where they were, because they treasured aliens and asked how they would feel about what she was doing. The representative hung her head in shame and said she would amend the contract.

Shepard headed back over to Shiala, who thanked her profusely and hoped that someday soon they could both be free of their responsibilities and perhaps get the chance to know each other better. Shepard wished her well and they parted.

That was a bit awkward…she thought. Not just because Shiala was a woman…Shepard…well, Shepard liked men… a lot. But, too, she admitted it was the whole live for a thousand years thing. She didn't want to become intimate with anyone who could live that long. She didn't want to be just another notch in someone's belt…a faded memory…if that made her selfish and shallow, so be it…she wanted to grow old with someone and die when they do. Did that make her an age-ist, a romantic, or just a selfish bitch? She wasn't sure and she didn't want to look too closely at it. A selfish bitch was just not how she cared to see herself…it was a tad…unflattering.

She completed the terminal hacking and Liara commed her to head back. When she got there she sat across from Liara and took her hand. "I need you to listen to me for a moment."

"Of course, Shepard."

"I want you to be wary of Nyxeris. She is not what she seems. Her aura is mottled...tumultuous. It screams deception. Her voice oily…I do not like what I am getting from her. Be careful." Shepard warned her friend.

Liara studied her friend for a moment. She had never known Shepard to be wrong, but Shepard had died. What if that had affected her…abilities? She'd known Nyxeris for some time and she'd never been anything but helpful. No, she would put her faith with Shepard. Better to be safe than sorry. She patted Shepard's hand and agreed to keep an eye on Nyxeris.

They then discussed a shadow broker operative known only as the Observer that Liara needed to track down. Liara called Nyxeris in and Nyxeris explained that the Observer was likely one of 5 operatives. Shepard needed to hack some datapoint terminals to find out which operative was the Observer. Shepard agreed to help and headed downstairs again. Having friends could sure be exhausting work at times, she mused.

She hacked the first 4 terminals and headed for the final one located at the Eternity bar. She was about to head into the bar when a screaming asari decked her. She straightened up and gave the woman a cold stare. "That one I will give you for free because you apparently suffering from head-ass-itis. Know this, I am a Spectre and I do _not _suffer idiots well. Explain yourself…and do so calmly…lest you piss me off." Shepard gritted out. The asari hung her head contritely. She quietly explained that there was a human inside, a close friend of Shepard's, who was trying to steal her bar. Shepard sighed and said she'd take care of it.

Once inside the bar she hacked the final terminal and commed Liara to let her know that she had discovered none of the operatives could be the Observer because they were male and she had learned that the Observer was female. She asked Liara where the tip came from. Liara called for Nyxeris and told Shepard to come back and see her this evening.

Shephard heard someone yelling and looked across the bar to see Conrad Verner, of all people, demanding the deed to the bar and was dropping her name to try to get it. Oh stars…crazy Verner…what next. She walked over to Verner and asked him what he was doing. He was shocked she was alive, but proceeded to tell her that after her death people needed someone else to look up to, so he purchased N7 armor and stepped up. He was here today to stop a red-sand drug ring and needed to give the deed to the bar to the undercover cop downstairs to help her put an end to it. Shepard looked at him with a sincerity she did not quite feel and told him she would look into it.

Exhaustion bitch slapped her and she stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. Shit…some days she just wanted to bury her head in the sand and let life pass her by. Hell, she'd be content to just bury her head up her ass for awhile…Garrus would have…she pushed that thought away. He was gone. She had to let him go. She took another deep breath, bucked up and headed back down the stairs to the second floor trading center.

The weapon's merchant, aka undercover cop, was eager to greet her and find out news about the bar's deed. Shepard explained to her how she had softened up the bar owner, but that the merchant needed to go in strong to finish the deal. The asari thanked her, gave her a discount on her kiosk and hurried off to confront the bar's owner.

Jacob gave Shepard a long look. "Did you really need to do that?"

"Perhaps not," said Shepard. "But it sure as hell felt good." She bought what she needed from the kiosk and headed back up to the bar to talk to Conrad. She arrived in time to see the weapon's merchant being hauled away by the authorities. She told Conrad that he was a hero, that the undercover cop had actually been a terrorist agent. She thanked him for putting her onto the agent and then told him to go home and let her take care of things. He said he would do that and she hoped like hell he did, for there was only so much Verner she could take in her life.

She made her way to the asari bartender who thanked her for getting rid of Verner. Shepard discovered she was an asari Matriarch with an interesting life. The woman told her about her past, her parents, her true-blood daughter, her general philosophy and how the other asari didn't care to hear her wisdom so she served drinks here at Eternity. Shepard thanked her for the intriguing story, downed a drink and headed back to the Normandy to wait out the remaining time before she would meet up with Liara again, find out how things went with Nyxeris and perhaps where Samara was.

Thane was in awe of the woman. No matter what task she was on she stopped to help everyone along the way before going back to her task. She didn't appear to care how far out of her way she had to go make someone's life better, she just did it. He knew she lived a hard, violent life and could understand her need to make the world a better place. He'd heard a lot of stories about Commander Shepard. He knew she was a hero, a warrior, a survivor, a diplomat, a peace maker and a legend; a woman that gave up her life to ensure the safety of her crew. But he hadn't known she had the patience of a saint, though she clearly suffered no fools, and a heart the size of an ocean.

A blind rage had fallen over him when he saw the asari outside of Eternity strike the woman he was stalking. He grabbed his sniper, sighted down, and then forced his finger from the trigger when he heard the Commander talk the asari down.

He had to stop himself from going to her when he saw her turn from the crazy man. He could see the exhaustion weighing heavy upon her and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her and protect her. But...why? Why did this human have that effect on him? He continued his vigil.

He'd grunted in satisfaction trying hard not to laugh his ass off, something he'd not done in a long time, when he saw how she chose to handle the crooked weapon's merchant. Fitting he thought and gave the Commander a bow of acknowledgement…though he knew she wouldn't see it.

He was even more intrigued by the woman than before and he was still no closer to finding out what she wanted with him and why he was so drawn to her. He made his way to the bar after she left, asked the bartender what she drank and purchased a bottle of it. Only one way his questions were going to be answered. He was going to drop in on her and pay her a visit.

When the group entered the ship's airlock he followed and contemplated the best way to board undetected. He spotted an emergency hatch. Perfect. He had a quick mission to take care of and he would be back. He knew this woman was going to be a part of his future, he wasn't sure how yet, but he knew she would be. He just needed to get his past settled so he could concentrate on his future…perhaps their future. He looked longingly at the hatch and nearly gave in to the need he had to see her. He put the bottle of honeymead on the emergency hatch door. It was a promise to both of them. "I will be back for you, Shepard." He vowed. He felt a painful wrench from deep inside as he turned away from the hatch. It felt like it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do and perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. He stopped for a moment, looked back at the hatch and closed his eyes. He would be back soon.

When they returned to the ship Shepard headed directly for her cabin. She instructed EDI that she was not to be disturbed for any reason unless they were fired upon, which wasn't likely to happen while berthed at an Illium port. She peeled off her dress, laid it over the sofa, grabbed a glass of wine, and headed for the bathroom. She was in love with her bathroom. The shower unit had a built in hot tub at its base. She would kiss the Cerberus engineer who designed this if she could. She started the water, set the temperature and poured in some vanilla spice bath crystals. She watched them foam up. This was going to be heaven…and she sorely needed it. She just needed another glass of wine and it would be perfect. She placed her glass of wine on the tub's edge and lowered herself into the steaming tub. Heaven.

After a nice dinner, she received a ping from Liara. Time to go catch up with a friend. As she stepped out of the airlock something caught her eye. She bent down and picked up the bottle. Asari Honeymead. Her favorite…and very expensive. Who would have left it here? There was not even a note attached to it, she didn't know exactly who it was meant for. Though a picture started forming in her head. All day it had felt like she was being watched. She looked around enough for the stalker to realize she knew they were there. They must have found out what she ordered to drink at the bar. The bottle was strategically placed on the only easily accessed entry port onto the ship besides the front door. She put it at the airlock entry to she would remember to grab it on the way back. It appears that her stalker was sending her a message. But was it romantic or dangerous?

"It is so good to see you again Shepard. Every time I do my heart sings because you are still alive." She said smiling. Her smile faded and a frown replaced it. "I'm sorry I can't join you in your mission. I have…debts that need repaid." Liara said quietly.

"I understand Liara…it's been two years…my friends have all…moved on. It hurts, but I understand. And, when the time comes I will help you in any way that I can." Shepard assured her.

"I know you will Shepard…you always do. I'm always leaning on you…and you are always there to catch me." She said solemnly.

"That's what friends do for each other." Shepard said with a smile.

Liara gasped. Goddess how she missed that smile. She shook her head and sighed. "Yes…and I failed you. The one time you asked me for help and I turned you away." Liara said, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Liara," Shepard said, tilting her head up to look her in the eye…"You didn't fail me. You have a life…Important things to do. I understand. By the way, how did things go with Nyxeris?"

"Nyxeris had some interesting data hidden away. I wouldn't have caught her without you. Now, I'm one step closer to the Shadow Broker." Liara said, pausing… "She was very talented. I imagine that had been ordered to assassinate me…I never would have seen her coming. But, her barriers needed practice…practice I'm afraid she won't be getting." She said, smiling smugly.

Shepard laughed. "So what is your next step?"

"I will gather more information, peel away the lies, shine light into the shadows…and when I find the Shadow Broker, I will hit him with a biotic field so strong that what is left of his body will fit into a coffee cup." She said with a cold gleam in her eyes.

"What did the Shadow Broker do to you?" Asked Shepard, puzzled by her friend's fury.

Liara looked away, then back to her friend. She pulled her into a brief embrace. "Did Cerberus ever tell you how they recovered your body?" She caught Shepard's head shake and continued. "I gave it to them…I gave _you_ to them… Because they said they could rebuild you. And to do that I had to take it from the Shadow Broker who was going to sell it to the Collectors. My friend, Feron, and a geth, believe it or not, sacrificed themselves so that I could get away with your body."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Shepard asked curiously.

"When I gave you to Cerberus, I told myself I was doing it for you, for a chance to bring you back. But, I knew Cerberus would use you for their own nefarious purposes...and I let it happen because I couldn't let you go. I'm sorry." Liara said, hanging her head in shame.

"I'm not. Liara…," Shepard tilted Liara's head up to look into her eyes. "You saved my life by giving me to Cerberus…And, by doing so you have given me the chance to save countless more lives. Thank you." She leaned in and gave Liara a brief peck on the lips. "Keep in mind…I will take down Cerberus…but, not until I've squeezed every last resource out of them to bring down the Collectors."

"I am relieved. I thought you would hate me if you knew. So, that is why I must destroy the Shadow Broker…for what he did to my friend...what he did to the geth… for what he tried to do to you…and for whatever he is doing with the Collectors."

Shepard looked at her worriedly. "Be careful Liara…don't become the thing you are hunting."

Liara gave her a wicked grin. "Says the dead Spectre working with Cerberus." The smile fell from her face. "Do not worry Shepard. I am not my mother. Everything I'm doing I'm doing of my own free will…for better or for worse."

"And that…only makes me worry more." She said, giving her friend's shoulder a squeeze, pouring all her concern into her touch.

"Oh – do you want me to continue searching for Garrus?" Liara asked. At Shepard's nod, she walked around her desk and sank heavily into her chair. "I had forgotten just how much of an empath you are."

Shepard looked at her askew. "That is not a trait I would have thought to use to describe myself."

Liara looked over at her friend. "You are a very strong empath…you just have a hard time seeing something if it relates to yourself. If someone had feelings for you, they'd probably have to throw a grenade in your lap to get you to notice." She said sardonically if not a little sadly.

"An-y-waay," Shepard drew out, "I had a second reason for wanting to stop by tonight." She flipped on her omni-tool and sent an information folder to Liara's e-pad. Cerberus sent me some intel I thought you might be interested in. They think they have a good idea of where the Shadow Broker is."

Liara grabbed up the pad and flipped it on. "It looks like a leaked transmission between shadow broker operatives…some hints of location…and it's about…Feron. He's…still alive." She said in wonder. "Cerberus brought you back…and now they are giving me the chance to find Feron…After two years…I hadn't even dreamed he could still be alive."

"He must have been a close friend. Are you okay?" Shepard asked softly.

Liara gave a light laugh. "He betrayed me more than a few times…but, as I said before… in the end he sacrificed himself so that I could get away with your body…I spent the last 2 years plotting revenge…now I have the chance to make it a rescue. But I wonder what happened to the geth."

"You know I am there for you Liara…I will help you free Feron - and find the geth" Shepard said matter of fact.

Liara nodded. "The geth was fascinating, Shepard. It could talk! I didn't even know geth could talk. It wanted to find you as badly as I did. It wanted to ally itself to you. A geth, can you believe it?" Liara asked. "It was horrible to watch it die. A rocket struck it in the chest and I could see right through it. It screamed like a living being." Liara shuddered.

"I think it did find me, Liara. A geth found me on Freedom's Progress. It wore N7 armor, but it still had a hole through the center of it. It told me the geth wanted to ally with me to fight the Old Machines. It looks like your geth survived." Shepard told her.

Liara nodded and gave a small smile. "That is good to know. I'm glad it found you. I guess that only leaves Feron."

"What is our next step?" Shepard asked her friend.

"I need to prepare and sort through all the information. I will let you know when I have a plan and we can meet at my apartment. You are welcome to come back tomorrow and get any information you need from my terminal." Liara took a framed picture from her desk, held it close to her heart and walked from the room.

Kolyat-Shep

Chapter 10

Samara

She rolled out of bed, hopped into the shower and poured herself into blue leather pants and snapped up the matching blue with white trim leather vest. It had a plunging neckline and was cut up to reveal her sapphire bejeweled navel. She cinched up her mag-belt and snapped the Mattock to her lower back. It felt odd, heavier than the shotgun she was used to, but more practical as her only weapon. She attached a couple of extra clips to the belt. She wasn't expecting trouble, hence the lack of armor, but she had never met Samara before and was uncertain what sort of reception she would receive.

She headed down to the mess for a bite to eat

"EDI have Legion and Jacob meet me in the airlock in 10." She said as she eyeballed the scrumptious tray of food she'd picked out.

"Will do, Shepard." EDI replied.

Shepard began picking at the food, hungrier than she thought she'd be. She tore open 3 packages of vanilla creamer powder, poured them into her coffee and stirred it. She liked it sweet as sin.

They headed out onto the trade floor and up to Liara's terminal to see if they could find current information on Samara's whereabouts. After they entered her office, Shepard went around the desk and keyed in Samara's name. A report popped up showing that Samara had reported in to tracking officer Dara at the transportation hub upon arrival.

She headed through the corridor under Liara's office and continued on up another set of stairs and through another corridor. Upon entry to the second trading floor, they headed right to the police station. Officer Dara told them Samara had gone to the Commercial Space Port and directed them to a cab. She instructed them to tread lightly, for if Samara killed a species other than an Asari, it would basically be a big diplomatic can of worms. Shepard hoped it wouldn't come to that…she was not partial to worms.

When they exited a taxi a Volus merchant, Pitne For, was complaining about how his partner was killed by eclipse mercs and everyone was in fear of the justicar. He told them she'd headed into the crime scene, but if they wanted to get in there, they'd need to speak to the detective who sealed the area off.

Shepard nodded. "I should go." She told the Volus and they headed into the police station. She sat down opposite detective Anaya and informed her that she needed to find Samara.

"If you have a score to settle with Samara, take it somewhere else…I have more than enough trouble already." Detective Anaya informed her.

"I need to recruit her for a mission and then we'll be on our way." Shepard told her.

"Well, justicars usually work alone…but, they are drawn to impossible causes."

"Impossible suggests she never succeeds. Perhaps she would be interested in our cause…it is merely improbable." Legion explained.

"If you are getting her out of my district, I'll get you to her ASAP; she's over at the crime scene. I'll send word to let them know you're coming." Anaya nodded her head in that direction.

"Why are you so anxious to get her out of your district?" Shepard asked curiously.

"My bosses fear she will start a big cross-species incident, so they have asked me to detain her. If I try to do that, she'll kill me. I have no interest in dying. So if you can lure her away with some _big_, noble cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you." Said detective Anaya.

"What can you tell me about the crime scene?"

"A Volus merchant was found murdered. A professional hit…probably the local Eclipse merc band. If the Volus was dirty, maybe it's a deal gone bad." Anaya replied.

"I have to go," said Shepard, rising from the chair. Anaya wished her luck.

A crime scene great. She needed her armor. She commed EDI and asked her to have Miranda bring down her armor, viper, and Arc Projector. When Miranda arrived at her coordinates, she asked if Shepard wanted her to stay.

"Miuranda, you are my XO. It is not safe for us both to be off the ship at the same time." She lowered her voice. "If something happened to you, that would leave Jacob as my new XO. I think we both know he's not ready for that."

Miranda nodded her understanding, wished them luck and headed back to the shuttle.

Shepard sighed and pulled her armor on over her beautiful blue leather. She snapped her guns to her back and headed out.

When she entered the crime scene the guards warned her to be careful. A few steps in she found a terminal that begged to be abused. She opened it up and discovered a message that discussed a theft against someone by the name of Thax. She downloaded the info and asked EDI to forward it to Thax if she found him. She turned to kiss her husband for luck.

They rounded a corner; she pillaged some credits at the bottom of some stairs and then proceeded up another stair case. They could hear the mercs talking before they came into view. The mechs went down fast, the mercs falling soon after. They entered through another sectioned off area, where they saw a red suited Asari interrogate and kill a local merc who refused to cooperate. She turned and approached them.

"I am Samara, a servant of the justicar code. My quarrel is with these eclipse sisters, yet I see three well armed people before me. Are we friend or foe?" Samara asked coolly.

"My name is Commander Shepard and I need your help to take down the Collectors."

"You honor me. The Collectors are a formidable foe. But, I am in the middle of an investigation, tracking a dangerous fugitive. These eclipse sisters have smuggled her off world and I must find the name of the ship she left on."

Detective Anaya walked in. "I wish you had left with the human Justicar, because I have orders to bring you in."

"You risk a great deal following your orders detective. Fortunately, the code allows me to give you one day and then I must return to my investigation." Samara informed her.

"I will not be able to release you that soon." The detective replied.

"You won't be able to stop me." Came the cold reply.

Shepard did not like the direction this was going. "I will get the name of the ship for you Samara."

"If you do that I will join you and the code will be satisfied. If not, I will be forced to kill many innocents or be killed myself. By joining you I would be able to resume my investigation if I survive your mission. I would prefer that to killing innocents." Samara said plainly.

"A slim chance is better than no chance," acknowledged Jacob.

"Have you found any leads?" She asked Samara.

"The eclipse sisters are going after the Volus, Pitne For; he may be willing to tell you more to save his own hide." Samara said as she walked away with the detective.

Pitne for was at first reluctant to talk, but quickly realized he was out of options if he wanted to survive. Which he did. He explained he sold a chemical to the eclipse to boost biotic ability…he did, however, fail to mention that it was also toxic. He gave her the copy of a pass card he'd made for the eclipse base.

They were now able to enter the base proper. The first wave of mercs to hit them was rather weak. The mercs were quick to lob containers of the toxic chemical at them. Legion was unaffected, but she and Jacob discovered quickly that by dodging in and out of the toxic red clouds that they were able to keep their biotics strengthened without risking their lives.

As they advanced into the base, she came upon an eclipse sister, Elnora, hiding in a room. It didn't end well….for Elnora, anyway. Shepard shivered…she'd gotten a bad vibe from the girl and her aura was a putrid, dark, mottled color.

They left the room and proceeded up a long flight of stairs, through a door and up another set of stairs. More mercs were waiting for them. They slowly worked their way through the next floor. In a back room she hacked into a terminal for more credits and then proceeded up the stairs to the next floor. Another round of mercs and another flight of stairs…a corner and more stairs. Well, her ass was getting a good work out today in any event.

They finally entered into some kind of warehouse. She grabbed some platinum, went up the stairs of the closest bridge, took out a mech, and it became a free-for-all shoot fest between her squad and the eclipse squad across the floor. Legion lobbed an attack drone at them, which made things a lot easier since they were too far away for biotics to be effective. They apparently had no engineers in their squad…sucks to be them, she thought. When the mercs were down they headed out across the floor and through a back passageway.

She accessed a message on a computer terminal that told of Elnora's gleeful accounting of how she murdered the Volus.

"Elnora was the murder. You were right to be suspicious of her Commander." Jacob said a bit in awe of her instincts.

"This information will be useful to detective Anaya." Legion pointed out.

That it will, thought Shepard as she pilfered some credits. They passed through two more doors before they were greeted by another 3 mechs. Easy-peasy. She headed out across a small walk-bridge when Jacob yells out, "Gunship above!" They all dove for cover.

Shepard pulled out her Arc Projector, stood up and fired a charge at the gunship. It fired a rocket at her and she dove back behind cover. After a few more exchanged rounds it ducked down and then flew in over their heads to take them out from behind, but they had finally pumped enough firepower into it to take it down…in a rather splendid display of flame and shrapnel.

She hacked them through a locked door and picked up a data pad. It contained a shipping manifest of red sand and mitigen X3 that Pitne For had smuggled onto Illium and sold to the eclipse mercs.

"This is not the information that Samara needs, but it proves the Volus was a criminal." Jacob pointed out.

She turned to Legion, "What do you think of drug use?"

"It improves short term performance at the expense of long term survivability…Similar to geth over clocking themselves. However, should our platform be damaged by over clocking, we can be repaired. Why an organic would choose this is puzzling."

"Agreed." She said. Shepard stole some more credits from anther terminal and headed through another door where she met a strange, bumbling Volus named Niftu Cal. The eclipse had apparently filled him full of all sorts of nasties and now he believed himself to be a biotic god. Could the day get any weirder?

"I know in my head I'm amazingly powerful. I am biotics made flesh." He walked up to Jacob, looked up to him, raised his hand and said, "Fear me!"

Jacob shrugged, looking more than a little embarrassed for the Volus.

"The leader of these mercenaries is in the next room…and my biotics will tear her apart." Niftu assured them.

"His operating platform is unstable." Legion replied, flapping his eye plates.

"You need to take a nap." She told the volus. He began spouting his grandure nonsense again and she gave him a light tap sending him sprawling to the floor.

"What was I saying?" He asked as he rose to his feet. "Perhaps you are right…a nap now…destroy the universe later." And he headed out the door.

"The first thing a god must master is himself." Legion remarked.

Let the games begin, Shepard thought as they headed through the door to confront Wasea, the merc leader.

Wasea watched them enter. She came around her desk finished her drink and tossed down a data-pad. "Everything's gone to hell since we smuggled that filthy creature off world. First a justicar shows up…now you. At least I can take pleasure in turning your head into a pulpy mass." Wasea said bitterly as she sent a toxic canister flying towards them.

The mercs went down faster than she had anticipated. Shepard cast a couple of reave waves out, then she had to move quickly and duck in cover because the toxic powder had taken down her shields. Time for a little pick-me-up. She targeted Wasea, amped her power, and charged. She looked down at the dead woman in disappointment. She then noticed the small, neat hole in the side of her head. "Jacob!" She yelled."Will you leave some for me!"

"Shepard Commander this platform was responsible for that shot." Legion informed her.

She looked guiltily at Jacob. "Sorry about that," she said as she threw a merc against the wall.

Jacob shrugged. "I would have taken the shot if Legion had not beaten me to it." He said honestly.

She gave him a hard look and searched the room for another target. There was no one left standing but them. She pivoted and made her way to the pad Wasea had dropped onto her desk. It was the name of the ship. DML Demeter.

They returned to the police station to give Samara the information she sought.

"I must be sworn into your service so that I'm never forced to choose between your orders and the code." Samara took a knee in front of Shepard and vowed that Shepard's code would be her code. She also warned Shepard she might have to kill her when released from her vow if she was forced to do anything extremely dishonorable.

Jacob chuckled at the absurdity…the Commander had always been honorable.

Shepard was stunned and honored that the justicar would make such a vow to her. Shepard turned to Anaya and presented her evidence on Elnora and Pitne. Samara backed the evidence when Shepard was told it was inadmissible.

With the day's deeds finally over, they trudged back to the taxi. Shepard let Legion man the controls and she settled in the back next to Samara, grateful to be off her feet and wishing she had something to eat. Her tummy let them all know, on no uncertain terms, that she had missed lunch. Legion asked if Shepard Commander needed lubrication. The organics burst out laughing.

Once they were back on the ship, she instructed Kelly to show Samara around and settle her in the Observation Lounge on Deck 3. She checked in with Miranda and then headed the mess and then to her cabin to get out of her armor.

She placed her large tray of food on the table and headed for her closet. She wearily removed her armor, and gave a sad smile at her blue leather clad body that she had not been able to show off today. She walked into the bathroom and programmed in a hot bath, adding her favorite bubble powder to the hot water and returned to the sofa to eat dinner.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 11

Heart Break

EDI interrupted, "Shepard I have a news announcement you will want to hear. Patching it in now.

"The body of infamous drell assassin Thane Krios was found next to the body of Nausana Dantius and several mercenaries at her Dantius Tower penthouse. A couple of employees that escaped alerted C-Sec to the fighting inside. Several more workers were found locked behind doors. They told officials they had been locked in to keep them safe from Nausana's mercenaries. Their savior also took down mercs that had been threatening to kill them. Many more bodies of workers were found throughout the Tower. According to officer Dara, Thane Krios had told her he just wanted to make the world a better place before he died. Officials poured over Nausana's personal files and discovered Thane Krios accomplished what he set out to do. He made the world a better place before he died."

Shepard collapsed on the sofa in shock. Thane Krios was dead? No! She pulled his dossier onto her lap and looked at his slightly blurry picture. Her heart felt like it had been shattered and her soul ached with an emptiness she couldn't fathom. Why did this man affect her so much? She needed to find out. A tear slipped down her cheek. His death was all her fault. If she'd have picked him up sooner…if she'd not let irrational fear and pain stop her, he'd still be alive. Did he have family? She could never make up for his loss, but she had to try to do something to make it up even a little bit to his family.

"EDI find out where Thane Krios' body is being kept. Also, find out if he has any family."

"I'm on it, Shepard" EDI gave a brief pause. "His body is still here on Illium. He is being kept at the Dilani-Reenar Hospital. His body is scheduled for preservation today."

"EDI contact the hospital's administrator. Inform them a Spectre is coming and they are not to touch the body. Give them my ETA." Shepard demanded.

"Right away, Shepard." EDI told her.

She slipped into a black bodysuit. It was cut down to her top of her ass in the back, displayed ample cleavage in the front and had a diamond cut out to display her black onyx rose belly button ring. She slung her black magbelt low on her hips and snapped her carnifex at the back.

"EDI have Samara and Miranda meet me at the shuttle in 10."

They boarded the shuttle and made their way to the Dilani-Reenar Hospital. They parked in the VIP lot. As they exited the shuttle three asari came rushing towards them. "Welcome to Delani-Reenar Hopsital. I'm Neerini Clant, administrator. We don't get many Spectres at DRH." She said nervously. "Bodies are not supposed to be viewed during ongoing cases."

"But you will let me view it." Shepard said coldly.

"Of course, Commander Shepard. You are a Spectre and are granted special privileges. It's right this way, follow me."

She led them to a closed door and Shepard stepped in front of her. "That will be all. Thank you."

The asari fidgeted and looked around anxiously. "Let me know if I can help you with anything else."

"Samara, Miranda guard this door. No one is to enter for any reason." Shepard slipped through the door and shut it behind her. She took a deep breath and then turned to face the body. She walked over to it and bent over to get a better look. He was very handsome. Much better looking than the picture showed. Her heart slammed painfully in her chest. This isn't how she was supposed to meet him. This never should have happened. To the bottom of her soul she knew how wrong this was, that he should not be dead. It was all her fault. A tear slipped down her cheek.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt…something. Was he still in there? She closed her eyes and forced the sight. When she opened them she saw the black aura. Death. Then she noticed faint purple swirls, they were small, but still there. The purple must be his true aura. He's not completely gone. Something of him is still in there. She peeled off her bodysuit and slipped under the blanket that draped him. She melded her body to his, covering as much skin as she could. She turned his face towards hers, placed her lips softly against his and applied gently pressure to his chin to open his mouth. She slipped her tongue between his lips. She'd only kissed one other unresponsive mouth before, but she needed to get the memory pictures. She slid her tongue along his and explored his mouth, trying to get as much DNA as she could. Then she withdrew her tongue and let his mouth close. "I'm so sorry." She whispered. She pushed the record button on her omni-tool. In case she didn't survive this, she wanted some accounting.

She closed her eyes and started to pour energy into his body.

"What are you doing?" A deep male voice asked calmly.

"No one is supposed to be in here. Get out." She told him.

"I will go soon enough. I've been waiting for you." He said.

"You'll have to wait longer. He is more important than you are." She told him.

"I see. Would you please tell me what you are doing?" He asked.

"I'm trying to bring him back. Go away." She said.

"Why would you want to do that?" He asked curiously.

"It's my fault that he died." She said softly.

"No, it is his fault that he died. He chose to go after Nausana." He told her patiently.

"If I had been there as I should have been I could have prevented his death." She told him matter of fact.

"Nonsense. But what does a dead Spectre want with him?" He asked.

"I was given his dossier. I am going to take down the Collectors and I'm building up a team of the best. But when I saw his name...his picture - I felt my heart crack and break. I felt an irrational fear I couldn't even place and because of that he's dead." She said solemnly.

"Going after the Collectors would require going through the Omega 4 relay. It is impossible. No one has ever survived it." He pointed out.

"They also said that about Ilos." She said quietly.

"True. You've made a career out of doing the impossible." He paused a moment. "He would have joined your mission. He wanted to make the world a better place before he died. A lot of innocent people died at the Towers, he would have wanted to make up for that."

"I would have helped him if I'd known. I took out her sister. I had not kept up with her. I wasn't aware she chose to walk the same path."

He grunted. "Why did you kiss him like that?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Perhaps it's better if you just think I have a fetish for the recently deceased." She said. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"Try me." He said.

She sighed. "I needed his DNA...When my DNA mixes with another's, through the mixing of bodily fluids…kissing, blood…sex, pictures of their past, present, and future pour into my mind. It's a kaleidoscope of a life. Random memory pictures come in to full view and disappear to be replaced by others. It is easier if I'm looking for something specific. And no, I wasn't even going to consider drinking his blood. Unfortunately, sex wasn't an option."

"You wanted to have sex with him?" he asked thickly.

"You don't let anything slide, do you?"

"I – No, I guess I don't, at least not with you." He said.

"Great. I'm special." She said drolly.

"I think maybe you are…and you didn't answer my question. Why did you want to have sex with him?"

"Look, I already told you before how strongly he affects me. When I saw him, it hit me hard. Now, I'm lying on his body and it feels so right. I'm pouring everything I am into him, hoping it will be enough. That he will wrap his arms around me. Ok? I've never had sex before, but I want nothing more right now than for him to wake up and make love to me. Are you happy now?" She asked bitterly.

"You would have given him such a gift?" He asked stunned. "Why? Who is he to you?"

"I don't know, that is why I kissed him. "I needed the memory pictures to find out who he was to me. Why he affected me the way he did. I was also hoping to find information about any family he had. I wanted to let them know what happened to him, to be there for them any way that I could." She told him.

"Why do you are about him so much?"

"Isn't it enough that I do? Will you please just go. Let me try to save him. I owe him that. Maybe I owe us that too." She said shakily.

"You can't save him. You need to stop trying. You are exhausting yourself too much. If you keep it up you will join him in death. He's not worth it." He said adamantly.

"Maybe he is to me." She said softly.

"It is too late, Siha. He's not in there anymore. Will you please look at me." He implored.

She turned to the side to look up at the man that had been pestering her for so long. "Thane…" She said softly. She closed her eyes and forced the sight. She opened them slowly and he still stood before her. A purple aura with light blue swirls surrounded him. She released the sight. "You need to get back inside. I'll save you Thane, I will." She rolled off the bed and approached him.

He shook his head sadly. "I tried to get back in. I couldn't . It is too late for me. You cannot save me. You would only die with me. Did the pictures show you what you wanted to know?"

"No. Not yet. I can delay the process if I keep myself distracted." She said.

"It is odd," he said. "We have not met, yet when I look at you I feel like we have always known one another." His eyes wandered over her naked body. So alien and so beautiful. He ran his knuckles down the side of her face and continued a downward trail until they grazed the tip of her breast. He looked in wonder as he saw the nipple pucker and get hard. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I wish I could touch you…Will you look at the memory pictures now? Will you tell me why it feels like I'm losing the most important thing in my life?" He asked solemnly.

She nodded to him and relaxed herself. She stiffened as pain knifed through her head. She fell to the floor, grabbed her head and curled up into a ball, the pain overwhelming her, causing her to cry out.

"Siha!" He yelled in worry and dropped to her side. He hadn't known it would hurt her. She never told him that. Her suffering tore at him; he was nothing but a helpless spectator to her pain, unable to be there for her. Unable to touch her. Unable to hold her. Unable to do anything for her.

The pictures flooded into her mind. She saw him young with a Hanar, she saw him with a blue drell woman holding a baby, she saw him alone…so many pictures of him alone, pictures of him taking the life of another…pictures of them together…future? Past? She wasn't sure. She saw pictures of him coughing…sick…of a sword piercing his flesh…of his death…over and over again…the pictures swirled faster and faster. "No!" She screamed…unable to accept what she'd seen. "No…" She said weakly. "It's all my fault." She whispered sadly. "I failed you Thane on so many levels. If I'd have gone to you, you would not have died. You would have joined my team, we would have been together…you would have mended fences with your son. More than that you are probably better off not knowing. Suffice it to say, I have done you a grave disservice. I can never make up for how much I've wronged you." She said, tears falling down her cheeks.

"You never failed me, Siha. I am to blame for my own circumstance. Both with my son and with Nausana. Good or bad, they were my choices, no one else's. I could have prevented my own death. I saw you on Illium. I felt your presence before I ever saw you. I was drawn to you. I didn't understand why so I pursued you. When I saw you enter your ship I followed. I saw the emergency hatch and nearly entered it to seek you out. I left a bottle of Asari Honeymead on the emergency hatch door for you. I made a vow that I would return for you. I decided I would come back after I took care of my contract, so I could give you my full attention. It was my choice to walk away then. I should have stayed."

"I wish you had stayed." She said softly.

"So do I, Siha. More than anything else I wish I'd stayed. But tell me…what am I better off not knowing?" He asked.

"Thane…you don't want to know." She said matter of fact.

"Do not decide that for me," he said quietly. "I want to know the life I would have had. I _need _to know."

She nodded. "Look on the top of my right shoulder. What do you see?" She asked.

Thane glanced at her shoulder and noticed the faint white marks. "A scar…we all have them." He stated.

"Look closer." She said gently.

Thane took a better look at the marks. It was a very old bite wound. A drell bond mark…his bond mark. "Siha, what does this mean?" He asked in shock.

"I think you know what it means, Thane. I am your lifemate. We have been together for many lifetimes. We had children. This is the first time we were…prevented from getting together." Fresh tears trailed down her cheeks.

Thane closed his eyes in despair. He felt the truth of her words, the weight of his decisions…and it was unbearable. "My lifemate…my wife and I find you in death...not life." He said, shaking his head sadly. The thought of their children that would never be born tore at him. He reached a hand out to her and laid it beside her cheek. "Tell the rest, wife. Why did seeing my dossier cause you pain and fear?"

"You had Keprel's Syndrome, though that is not what killed you. You died how you wanted to…a hero…making the world a better place. You saved the Salarian Councilor's life during a Citadel invasion. I couldn't get to you in time. A man you were fighting, he ripped you open with his sword. I watched you die. I wasn't ready to let us go yet. I watched you die over and over again, unable to save you each time. I guess some part of me didn't want to face the pain and loss again, that is probably why your dossier effected me so much. But I was wrong…so wrong. One day with you would have been worth the pain and we had months. I took that away from us. I failed you. I failed us. It is unforgivable. I'm so sorry."

"You are so stubborn. Determined to believe you failed me when you did not. I imagine that determination has made you who you are…why you are so successful in everything you do and I am thankful for it. It brought you to me. You have changed my life even in death, Siha. You have given me the chance to know you. To love you."

She had to do something…focus on something else. She stood up and walked over to his body. She flipped on her omni-tool, reached down, gently opened his eyes and took a picture. Then she placed her hand softly against his eyes and closed them again. "You have beautiful eyes, husband." She crawled up onto the bed and straddled him. She ran her hands over his head, memorizing its texture and shape. She ran her fingers over his cheek crests and then placed her palms against his soft cheeks. "Your cheeks are so soft. Your lips so perfect," she said as she ran her thumb across his lower lip. She kissed his eyes, his nose, his mouth.

She ran her hands along the tops of his shoulders and down his arms. She brought his hands to her breasts, just to know what they would feel like on her skin. She laced her fingers through his, gave them a squeeze, and kissed each palm before lowering them back to the bed. She ran her hands down the muscles of his chest, feeling them, memorizing the feel of him. He had no nipples, but she placed a kiss where each would have been.

"What are you doing, wife?" He asked concerned.

"I am memorizing you and learning you the only way I can. So I can remember how you felt under my fingertips. This is all the memory I will have of you this life, husband…You have the most beautiful scales; I love the way they feel against my skin. They are so beautiful and iridescent…even now." She ran her fingers down the muscles of his abdomen and leaned down to kiss where his belly button would have been.

She sat up and turned around. She ran her hands down his thighs, stretched out to reach all the way down to his toes. Two of his toes were fused, just like his fingers. So very cute. Then she sat up and faced what she'd bypassed earlier.

"Siha," he said thickly.

She looked at his groin. It was red like his cheeks, had the same texture as his cheeks. She gently rolled his testicles in her palm, feeling their weight, their size. They were tighter than a human's and had very little sag. She released them and ran her fingers up his flaccid shaft. She could feel the ribbing. He was a lot thicker than a human, he head much more pronounced. She leaned down and place a gentle kiss upon its tip. She heard Thane gasp and she gave a small, sad smile. "I wish I could have felt you inside of me."

Thane groaned, "Were I inside you, I'd probably never want to leave."

"Maybe I wouldn't let you. I'd wrap my legs around you and keep you there…a prisoner of my desire." She said softly.

He closed his eyes, fighting the pain. Death could not stop the need to make her his in every way…it just stopped the ability to. His soul still cried out for her. His heart still ached for her. His body…or spirit still hungered for her. "Would that I could, Siha." He said quietly.

She slid off to the side and rolled his body onto its side. She ran her hands down his back slowly, memorizing its feel and markings. "You have the sexiest back I've ever seen." She ran her hands along the muscles of his firm ass. Damn. Could an ass be more perfect? "You have an amazing ass, husband." She place a kiss on each cheek flipped on her omi-tool, took another picture and rolled him onto his back. She took a final picture, then crawled in beside him to hold him a moment.

"Did you need to take those pictures?" He asked gently.

"I do not have a perfect memory. Since I will only be able to see you this once, I didn't want to forget anything about you…I know you were watching, it must have been strange. I hope you don't feel like I've violated you or something. That was not my intention." She asked uncertainly.

"No…No, I welcome your touch. I just wish I could have felt it. I was actually jealous of myself. I knew you were touching me, but since I couldn't feel it…it was like you were touching someone else." He admitted.

She walked over to him and stood in front of him. "Touch me." She said.

He looked at her sadly. "I cannot. I will just pass through you."

She concentrated on where her skin met him and then ran her hand along his face and rested it on his cheek. "Please touch me."

He could feel the heat of her touch; was shocked he could feel a light pressure and wished he could feel more. "How are you doing that?" He asked in wonder.

"I am concentrating on my fingers and where they are touching. I can feel a slight resistance when I touch you."

"I will try." He said and closed his eyes. He focused his energy on his hand, at first it sunk through her breast and she shivered.

"Sorry, you're a bit cold, but it's fine. Try again." She encouraged. She concentrated and focused her energy into her breasts, hoping that it would be enough. She felt his thumb caress her nipple. She groaned. Fire ripped through her and stabbed down into her core. Damn. She'd only felt that fire once before in her life.

"I felt you." She said in awe. She took a step further so that their chests were touching. She closed her eyes and pushed outward to merge their auras. The disorientation lasted a bit longer than normal, and then she felt the flood of his emotions wash over her… His love, his desire, his overwhelming sadness joined her emotions and became a crescendo crashing down on the both of them.

He was stunned by the force of their connection. He felt a loss greater than anything he'd ever known. He put his arms around her, though neither could feel it. "Kiss me," she'd said. And he lowered his mouth to hers, she parted her lips and he slipped his tongue inside. He focused all his energy on his tongue, his lips. He knew she must be doing the same because he began to feel her lips, her tongue moving against his. It was not much, but he was glad he had this memory. These memories she had given him, even in death were a gift he would always treasure. He could feel the heat of her touching him, he could feel her emotions, but he would give everything he had to feel her in his arms. He saw her shiver. "Am I too cold for you, wife?" He asked concerned.

"Never." She said emphatically. "Tell me about your son." She felt a barrage of new emotions flow through him.

His name is Kolyat. Kolyat Krios. We are not close. He hates me. I was never there when he was growing up. The hanar took me in when I was six and trained me to be their assassin. It was all I knew. When I married his mother, I continued to accept contracts across the galaxy. By the time he was five he understood what my absence was doing to his mother. When he was seven I came home and found his mother's body beaten, raped, and discarded. They were batarian slavers. I had killed their leaders. They were too afraid to come after me…so they went after her. When the hanar returned her body to the sea, I couldn't face the pain. I had to hope he would cry enough tears for the both of us. He raged at me. I let him; I deserved no less. Afterwards, I left him in the care of his aunts and uncles and I went after her killers. I killed them all. I made them pay…I made them suffer. I couldn't expose him to my life. I wanted him to live free of the stain of that sin. I thought I was doing what was best for him. I failed as a husband, a father. I could have stayed and Kahje and learned a new trade. But, I didn't. I think I had to keep leaving because I was searching for something…for you. When I found you I should have stayed. I just thought I could wrap up my past and then seek my future. I failed in that too. I swear to you wife...If we get another life, I will _not_ fail you again. I _will _find you." He said passionately.

"And I will come for you, husband. I swear it." She vowed. "I'm sorry, I can't keep up the connection, I'm too drained from…earlier." She released his aura and felt the immediate loss.

"I just wish…" He began.

"What do you wish?" She asked

"I wish we could have found each other sooner." He said softly.

"It may be possible to find you sooner… in our next life…I can try…but - " Her eyes filled with sorrow. "You would have to make a very difficult choice…I'm sorry." Tears slid down her cheeks.

"Anything…tell me…" The hope of being able to have her sooner was almost too much to bear.

She let out a ragged breath. "I would need a precise date, time and location from a point in your past that you were guaranteed to be. I will do everything in my power to etch that information into my soul. If it is burned deep enough…I cannot know for sure it will work…but I feel it." She said tapping her heart.

"There are three plausible points in history for you to consider…though all will be painful." She looked at him sadly. She placed a hand on his chest and focused her energy so he could feel her touch. "I will not blame you if you choose to keep things as they are and meet at Nausana's."

"Siha…" He warned. Why was she stalling?

"Ok." She said and let out a deep breath. "I can distract Irikah and be the woman who comes between your bullet and your mark. But, that would mean…"

"I would lose Kolyat." He now understood the ramifications and why she was hesitant to tell him.

"You would not know him to miss him, but yes...he would not exist as you know him now. Irikah would find, marry and have children with someone else."

"She would be safe. But, I would lose Kolyat…and you would be a child." He paused. "I could watch over you…protect you…maybe even help during the batarian attack."

"That is all true," she said…"and I would have gotten to love you much sooner."

"You would be a child...I would never have –"

"I think you know you would have. I know I would have. Do you think our souls would have cared about age? Do you think the desire…the need would have been any less? There is no way we could have resisted each other … You would have been a lot more fun than b.o.b. anyway."

"Who is Bob?" He asked…more than a little bit jealous.

" B.o.b. stands for battery operated boyfriend…it was my…sex toy." She said with a smile

Thane stood there a moment dumbfounded. Her smile caught him off guard. Wait…think…he tried to get his brain moving again. What was she talking about? Bob...sex toy. Sex toy? Oh gods. He needed to switch the subject. "I'm sure your parents would have been thrilled that an older man had taken such interest in their daughter."

She thought back on the man and woman that raised her. "They adopted me…you know…as a baby." She said. "I couldn't have asked for better parents. They were very open…very loving…never shy about showing the world how much they were in love." She sighed... "I always wanted what they had. My parents were very romantic…eccentric. They believed in Soul-Mates…they believed in eternal love. They would have welcomed you into my life…their home. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they would have made sure we got a special license to marry. They would have believed that no one could have protected me and loved me more than my soul-mate."

"They would have been right." He said. "I wish I could have met them. They sound like beautiful people. The world is less for their loss."

"Yes," she said. "It is. As it is for your loss." She cleared her throat and continued.

"The second point in time that I could come for you is when Kolyat is young… any time between his birth and up to a year before the raid. But..."

"I would be unfaithful to my wife and be forced to denounce her." He said slowly.

"Yes," she said, her heart breaking for him. "And, very publicly. Your enemies would have to know that you felt nothing more for her, that you left her for another woman you fell madly in love with. You would probably have to marry me very publicly, to draw your enemies from Irikah to…"

"You." A cold knot of fear settled in him. Seeing Irikah's beaten, raped, and discarded body had torn him to pieces…but, the thought of seeing his lifemate like that…"Absolutely not."

"Thane… I am a soldier. I am more than I appear…I can take care of myself."

He gave her a hard look. "No."

She sighed. "The third point in time that I could come to you is after…the Batarian attack. Immediately after would be insensitive to everyone...but, maybe a year later? Unfortunately, that means –"

"Kolyat would have to go through the death of his mother and abandonment by me…Pain regardless the choice."

"And, that is why I said I will not blame you if you choose to keep things as they are and I find you at the Dantius Towers." She reassured him.

He sighed. "The third option is out of the question in any case. I would spare Irikah and Kolyat from that fate if it were at all possible. Choosing between not having Kolyat or betraying and hurting Irikah, turning the batarians against you… As you have mentioned…pain regardless the choice." He said somberly. "The idea of touching another woman…taking her to wife when I have a lifemate…you coming to me...it - " he shivered.

"You would not know of me then…you would be content–" her voice cracked, "...with your life."

"No." He said simply.

"No?" She asked in confusion.

"I will _not_ hurt or shame Irikah like that, and even as an ex she could still be in danger…they could still go after her, kill her because they fear you as much as they fear me. I will also _not_ risk setting my enemies upon you, no matter how capable you are. I won't do it. If you are the one that comes between me and the mark, I would not have made those particular enemies, she would be safe and content in her life, and I would have you." He paused for a moment, pensive. "And as you said, I would not know my son to miss him."

"Are you sure about this, Thane?" She asked somberly. "If this works…and I feel that it will - Once the mantra's been ingrained, I don't think I'd be able to alter it. This is another truth that I feel. Once done, it cannot be undone. What if Kolyat finds a lifemate? What if he's destined to do a great deed or be a hero? Or one of his great grandchildren will? I just want to make sure you've really thought this through."

"I've already thought through the ramifications of my choice and will accept the consequences." He stated calmly.

"You are right about what you said; they could still come after her or Kolyat." She said sadly.

"Kolyat was away at school when they struck, had he been home, I'm sure they would have killed him…or enslaved him."

She nodded her agreement. In two of his past lifetimes Kolyat had been killed with his mother. That being the case, maybe the fates did not have any future-altering plans for Kolyat or his progeny. She hadn't intended to tell him…but, now that he'd made the decision, she felt she should.

"Your right," she said softly. "They did. In two of your lifetimes Kolyat was killed along side his mother. In a future life it could happen again." She rushed on, "I didn't tell you because it had no bearing on anything, it would only have caused you pain. But, since you're sure of the choice that you've made, I hoped telling you might ease some of the burden. Because he passed away in other life times then there is a good chance that the future does not hinge on anything he or his progeny may do…at least no anchor points will be affected."

Thane stood quietly while he tried to absorb her words. Never being born is one thing, but that his little son had actually been killed in two of his past lives…killed because of who he'd been…that was nearly too much to bear.

She put her arms around him, trying to hold him. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you… I didn't tell you to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted…I wanted to help you feel better about your decision…to know that the future won't be irrevocably changed in some horrible way… I - "

"Shush, wife. You did nothing wrong. Yes, it was painful to hear that he had been killed too…I was shocked. But, it did not happen in this life. He is alive now. And, yes…it is also a relief that the future will not be altered in some devastating way. That had been a concern; I'm pleased it no longer is. But, I am curious why you questioned me about it when you already knew there would be little effect on the future?" He asked her.

"Because I needed to know for certain how carefully you thought out your decision. I did not want there to be any doubts or regrets."

"I have none." He said with confidence.

"Then I will need you to tell me the exact date, time, place and the target's name.

"I hope you have a good memory." He said.

"For this I will." She vowed. She held up her bracelet to show him the glowing green dot. "I've also been recording everything and if, on the off chance, your voice doesn't come through, I'll repeat what you tell me so that I know it has been recorded. But, regardless, I will remember it word for word."

He told her the information she needed and she repeated it. She began a litany of it in her head.

"Wife, if this recording is intact, do not become lost to it as a drell can to a memory. There is too much at stake and you need to maintain your focus." He said worried.

"I will do my part for the galaxy and I will do it well…but first I will find our son, Thane. I will save him from himself. I'm sorry – your son." She corrected.

"You are my lifemate. In that sense you are his mother. I am glad that you can think of him that way. But what do you mean save him? From what?" he asked concerned.

"The first picture of it I get is him shooting a krogan and then holding a gun on a kneeling turian. We saved him then and I will save him now."

"It is a dark path that he walks. I am glad he has you to show him the way." Thane said, his heart breaking over his son's choice to walk the same path he had. But he knew Commander Shepard was a force to be reckoned with and his son was about to have his hands full. "Will you do me one more favor?" he asked.

"Anything." She answered honestly.

"Will you see that my body is returned to Kahje so that it can be given to the sea?"

"I will take it there myself." She vowed.

"I would have been the luckiest man alive to have you for my wife… I had thought no one would mourn me when I died. I know it is selfish, but I'm glad you came. I'm glad I will be remembered." He said solemnly.

"Thane…I will mourn you until I die."

He looked around, he felt something coming. "Time is running short for me, wife. Kalahira is getting impatient."

"No! Don't go. Don't leave me here alone." She cried.

"I will always be with you, Siha. You will never be alone. But right now you need to let go of the dead…the past. Your mission is too important, the living are depending on you. Save them, wife. Do what you were born to do. And when the time comes that your body is given to the sea, I _will_ be there. You will not make the journey alone. I vow this to you." He looked away, saw the rift. He could feel Kalahira's pull. He turned back to his lifemate. "I love you, wife." He said as he faded away.

Shepard fell to the ground as grief overtook her. It didn't take much to have your life irrevocably changed. A chance meeting…a missed chance…the world may continue to turn in cold indifference, but you will never be the same again. She failed her lifemate. But she would not fail his son…their son. She pushed the omni-tool button on her wrist bracelet and commed EDI. "EDI I need to find Kolyat Krios ASAP."

"I'll find him, Shepard." EDI stated.

She pushed herself up on shaky legs and walked over to Thane's body. She placed her hand on his soft cheek. Nothing. He was truly gone. She closed her eyes trying to absorb the pain. When she had some semblance of control, she looked back down upon his face. "Thank you for waiting for me. I failed you and you gifted me with your love. You will never be forgotten and I will mourn you until I meet you across the sea. And if you aren't there, so help me I will hunt down Kalahira and take you from her embrace. I love you, husband." She said and placed a tender kiss on his lips. She went over to her bodysuit and pulled it back on. She walked over to the door, turned for a final look at her lifemate, opened the door and walked out of the room with a heavy heart. The administrator rushed over to her. Shepard held her hand up to stall any words she might have said. "Get the body preserved and sent to the Normandy ASAP, I am claiming the body, as a Spectre if need be, and will be returning it to Kahje for a proper funeral." She turned from the woman and walked out of the hospital.

Samara and Miranda looked at each other as they followed her to the shuttle. They could see the whiteness on Shepard's face. They could see the strain that hadn't been there earlier. They noted the bloodshot eyes with the dead look to them. What they didn't know was what happened to cause this drastic change in her.

Miranda sighed. She turned to Shepard. "Are you okay, Commander?"

Shepard stopped and turned around. "I don't know what either of you believe about death and the afterlife… if you think I'm crazy, I will accept that. But I was not alone in that room. Thane's spirit stayed behind as long as it could. Suffice it to say that we learned we were lifemates throughout several lifetimes and that he was not supposed to die when he did. We each made stupid choices that culminated in his early demise. I failed him and I will never forgive myself for that. But I will not fail his son. Our son. I will find him and I will save him from himself, no matter the cost." She vowed and turned to enter the shuttle.

Samara and Miranda hopped in the back. They looked at each other and nodded.

"I do not think you are crazy Shepard," Samara said. "Asari believe in the afterlife. I am just sorry that you found him too late. I've never found my lifemate, I cannot even imagine what you are going through right now."

"I don't know if I believe in ghosts, Shepard, but no one comes away looking the way you do without having faced something horrendously traumatic. I do not think you are crazy either…and I'm sorry for your loss." Miranda said.

Once aboard the Normandy Shepard hit the mess and took a large tray of food up to her cabin.

****For those of you who wondered why I had to include Thane in this story in any way, I have two reasons. 1.) I wanted to help Kolyat. And the only way I could really help him is if I knew his father's side of the story, so I could relay it to Kolyat. I didn't want to just help him...I wanted to help heal him. 2.) Because she is the same Shepard in all three stories. She was supposed to have had 2 life mates. But, a single miss-step can lead to life altering consequences. I wanted the reader to feel what they could have had...what they should have had...what they lost. Since she hadn't met Thane before he died, I did the best I could to give their feelings some depth.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 12

Kasumi & the Council

As they boarded the Citadel an advertisement began speaking to Shepard. She did her best to ignore it while she conversed with her companions. "Commander Shepard enter the pass word and receive a free gift…Got problems with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services…Commander Shepard we have the finest companions waiting for you: perhaps something, smart, petite and Japanese would be your style?...Just enter your password for a surprise package worth millions of credits…Ok, really? How many times can you walk by without stopping?...Shepard – you do have the password, right?"

Shepard finally strolled over to the advertisement display and activated it. The damn thing was too precise to be a mere advertisement and too…familiar…that face…yeah…

"What's the password?" Asked the advertisement.

"Cut the crap." Shepard responded.

"Not the password I was looking for…but, it will do." Said Kasumi.

"What's with all the secrecy?" Asked Shepard.

"I'm the best thief in the business…not the most famous…and I need to take steps to make sure it stays that way. I also wanted to make sure you were the real deal – and there's no doubt in my mind."

"How can you be sure?" Shepard inquired.

"There is a certain…aura about you, like you've seen things no one else has." Kasumi replied.

"How did you get mixed up with Cerberus?"

"They offered a serious signing bonus and promised to help me with a thing I needed taken care of." Kasumi answered.

"That thing being…?"

"Donovan Hock killed my partner, Keiji Okuda, to steal an encrypted grey box out of his head…It contained memories laced with data that would prove harmful to humanity and start an interstellar war if it was discovered. I intend to get it back."

"I'll see that it gets done. Welcome aboard the Normandy Kasumi. I'll meet up with you on the ship." Shepard informed her.

As she entered into the main hallway leading into Zakera Ward, she was stopped by a guard at the door when a buzzer chimed.

"Metal detectors are inconvenient," Legion stated.

"Sorry for the inconvenience ma'am, but my scanners are picking up false readings…they seem to think you're...a…dead."

"I was only _mostly_ dead…Try finding that option on government paperwork." She said sardonically.

"Hah," the Turian said, rubbing the back of his neck…"We need to get that cleared up for you. Why don't you try talking to my Captain? He's in through the door on the right."

Captain Bailey was a rather companionable fellow…though not strictly by the book. He updated her status without a thought, saving her several days of busy work. He told her most of the wards are back up and running since the geth attack, and that humans were playing a larger role in c-sec because c-sec took a big hit during the attack and humans were the most experienced bodies they could find to fill the gap. He gave her directions to the Presidium and she was on her way. No muss…no fuss. It would be nice if everything went that smoothly.

They hopped a taxi to Anderson's office, where the Councilor was trying his best to delay the meeting. As she entered the door, she greeted Anderson warmly. She had missed him dreadfully. The councilors, however, jumped right into the purpose of the meeting; to discuss her wayward ways with Cerberus…to give her a chance to explain her actions since she had saved their lives during the battle of Saren and his geth.

"Sovereign was the leader behind the geth…not Saren. Saren was an organic and the geth would never follow an organic. They only followed him because he was Sovereign's tool…his agent"

The Asari Councilor spoke up, "Saren was a charismatic and compelling individual. He convinced the Geth the Reapers were real…just as he convinced you."

The Turian councilor threw up his hands. "We have dismissed your claims of Reapers. They are a myth perpetuated by Saren. Nothing more. The hologram on Ilos is no longer functioning. There is nothing to substantiate your claims.

"Sovereign's wreckage should more than prove that its design is far too advanced for us." Shepard said sternly.

"We found nothing to prove that it was not a Geth creation."

"We do not have the technology to create such a vessel." Legion stated.

"The word of your…_trophy_…is suspect. Perhaps the geth following Saren were more advanced," said the Salarian Councilor.

"This talk of Reapers proves just how fragile your mental state is. You have been manipulated by Cerberus and before that Saren." The Turian spat out derisively.

"I kept Cerberus from conquering the Citadel. I sent humans to their deaths to protect this council." Shepard reminded them.

"We are in a difficult situation Shepard," said the Asari counselor. "You are working for Cerberus, an avowed enemy of the Council. That is treason; a capital offense."

"Shepard is a hero," Anderson jumped in. "I am a member of this council too and I won't let this whitewash continue."

"We cannot condone what you are doing, but perhaps we can show peripheral support if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre." Said the Asari councilor after careful consideration.

Shepard threw her shoulders back. "I accept your offer."

"Good luck with your investigation; we hope you find a quick resolution and end to your ties with Cerberus." The Asari counselor stated before ending the holographic transmission.

"You realize the Council's offer is just symbolic?" Asked Anderson gently.

"No need to burn bridges, David." She told her mentor warmly.

"True enough. I'll try to keep them off your back." He pulled her in for a hug. "I've missed you, child. I'm glad your back, no matter who is responsible for it. They have my thanks."

Shepard hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

They were interrupted by Udina. Anderson sent him to his office with his tail tucked between his legs. Shepard couldn't help but smile. The nasty butt-weasel deserved so much more. "Why do you keep him around?"

"He knows how to get things done on the Citadel…and he loves to attend all those horrid political functions." David said with a shudder.

She laughed and settled in at a table to talk to David. She asked Jacob if he wanted to join them. He shook his head, electing to give them some privacy.

They eventually worked their way around to current affairs. Anderson explained how the keepers were flawlessly repairing any work they did on the Citadel. It was amazing to watch the improvements occur…virtually overnight. He also explained how little of Sovereign they were actually able to salvage, making it easy for the Alliance and the Council to sweep it under the rug.

When David made a remark about her _trophy-bot_, she couldn't stay quiet. "I've discovered that some Geth can be reasoned with. They are not all like the heretics that joined Sovereign."

"I would not use that as your next pitch to the council, child." He warned her. "You are fighting an uphill battle as it is, you know."

When she asked him how Kaidan was doing, he would only say he was out on a classified mission and he couldn't get into the details because she was with Cerberus now.

"David, I understand and respect your position. I'll ask no more about it. But, I want you to know that I am still a Council Spectre and under that I'm still Alliance. I am not _with_ Cerberus. I am using their resources to bring down the Collectors...that is all. When I have done so, I will do whatever it takes to wipe out Cerberus. Until then, I will send any intel I find on Cerberus back to the Council and the Alliance. I know where my loyalties lay. I also know the Alliance can't or won't do anything about the Collectors. Somebody has to. That somebody is me."

David covered her hand with his. "Be careful, child. Being a spy is dangerous. I couldn't bear to lose you again."

"I'm always careful, David." She assured him.

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Ok,' she sighed. "I'm _mostly_ careful…sometimes." She admitted.

"Have you told anyone else your intentions?" David asked her.

"Just Tali…you are welcome to let Hackett know, but other than that, I'd rather keep this all under wraps. Too many eyes and ears could cause major problems for me." She admitted.

"Understood, Child." David said as they all stood up. He walked them over to the door and gave her another hug. "Come by when you can. You're always welcome here."

He watched the three of them leave. He loved that child and he couldn't help but worry about her. His console chimed, he gave them one last look and turned away to get back to his own duties.

After they left David's office and hopped the taxi back to Zakera Ward, she asked legion if he wished to stay or return to the ship. He elected to return. She nodded acknowledgement and then realized where her thoughts had gone, legion was now a he. Two for two she mused.

As they walked away from the taxi and advertisement popped on telling how her next date with Mr. Taylor would be more memorable if they shared a bottle of exquisite Asari Rose-Wine. Thank you advertisement, she thought. She'd forgotten that she promised to pick a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy for the doctor. Thankfully, the Dark Star lounge carried it, so she could mark that off of her list of things to do.

As they were strolling through the shops, they passed the Zakera Café and that reminded Shepard she needed to pick up some ingredients for the cook. Check mark two off her list. Done and done. Simplicity at its finest.

They were ready to wrap up their visit to the Citadel when Jacob's omni-tool chimed. He excused himself. Shepard strolled on giving him a bit more privacy. She was naturally nosy, so she hoped he'd choose to talk to her later…but – her thoughts were interrupted when she heard quarrelling. And there goes her nose again, she laughed at herself and headed over to the argument.

A Volus had accused a Quarian of stealing his credit chit. Shepard asked him why he thought she did it. He said she bumped into him and reached her hand into his pocket to pilfer it out. The Quarian said that the Volus rudely bumped into her and then started accusing her of theft. Shepard turned to the c-sec officer and asked his opinion. He said his omni-tool showed the Quarian didn't have the chit, but that she could have stashed it anywhere, and that he should run her in for vagrancy for good measure. Shepard rolled her eyes. "I'll see if I can find out what happened." The c-sec officer told her to mind her own business. Right…like that was going to happen.

She headed down to the used ship dealer, but found no credit chit. Her next stop was the Sirta Foundation. They too informed her that no credit chit had been left there. She figured she'd try one more place. Saronis Applications. She finally struck pay dirt. The bloody Volus had made a purchase at the store and left his credit chit behind. Bloody stupid prejudiced prig.

When she returned to the trio she told the Volus where he had left his chit.

"Well the Quarian could have taken it." He said defensively.

"I'll wrap this event report up, but you need to get a residence or I'm going to run you in– "

"Are you two serious?!" Shepard fumed. She got down in the Volus's face, "You falsely accuse this girl of stealing," she said giving him a small, but firm push, "and all you can say is she could have done it?" She jumped to her feet and grabbed the front of the c-sec officer's shirt. "And you," she said pulling him in…nose to nose, "…you treat this poor girl like a criminal, without a scrap of proof and when you find out she's innocent you threaten to run her in for vagrancy?"

"How about I run you in for obstruction of justice?" The c-sec officer sneered.

She let him go and gave him a derisive look, then scoffed. "Why don't you try? …I'm a _Spectre_. What do you suppose Bailey will say to that?" her voice cold and ruthless as her gaze. She saw the c-sec officer blanch. "You two need to get the hell out of here." She said, waving her arm and sending a small wave of power at them to help them move along.

The quarian took a small stumble backwards as she was buffeted by the wave. Shepard looked at her apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"No…Thank _you_," the quarian said. "My name is Lia'Vael, I wish I had more to give you than words."

"I only wanted to help. I have a close friend that is a quarian and I'd wipe the floor with any idiot that treated her the way you were treated. Will you be ok?"

"Yes. I mean most nights I eat nutrient paste at a Turian shelter, but I'm getting by."

Shepard handed the girl 1000 credits and told her to spend it wisely. The quarian flung her arms around Shepard and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much. I now have enough to get the used ship I've been saving up for. You've helped me complete my pilgrimage. I will never forget your kindness to a stranger." She said emphatically.

Jacob caught back up to the Commander in time to see her go off on the c-sec officer. She was a sight to see. Bristling female fury…And when he saw what she did for the quarian, he couldn't help but smile. She was everything…fire and ice …war and peace…passion and serenity…sympathy and retribution… all rolled into one…she was one of the most fascinating and complex people he'd ever met.

Well, thought Shepard, this about wraps up today's Citadel adventure. "Is there anything you need to do while we're here Jacob?"

"No, ma'am. We can head back to the Normandy whenever you're ready." He told her.

She nodded, "Then let's go."

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 13

Kolyat

"Shepard I have located Kolyat Krios. Records indicate that he opened a lock-box his father had stored, which had contained information about his father's life. He's accepted a job as a hit man and has boarded a ship to the Citadel. He is due to arrive at the Citadel tomorrow." EDI informed her.

"Keep me updated EDI."

Sometime later EDI commed her. "Shepard he will be docking at the Citadel soon; ETA 19 minutes."

She stretched and rubbed her eyes. She had spent the night editing a copy of the recorded conversation between her and Thane. She wanted Kolyat to hear what his father said in own words. She felt it would mean more to him. But, there was a lot said he didn't need to hear. "Thank you Joker. EDI have Kasumi meet me at the airlock in 16." She jumped into the shower for a quick clean and slipped into a red dress. She needed confidence when she met Kolyat. And red always gave her a sense of strength.

"Just the two of us this time, Shep?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, this is a little more covert, and I wanted to keep this under the radar as much as possible." She explained to her about Thane, who was her lifemate, what she needed to do for him, and Kolyat her new son and what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry Shep. Losing Keiji was hard enough; I can't imagine the loss of a soulmate. So the large box I saw them dragging into life support, that was his body?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. I couldn't stand him being down in cargo like he was just another box of junk, so I had him moved. I've not gone crazy, I didn't build a shrine to him or pose him on my bed; I just thought he deserved more respect."

"I understand, Shep. If I had Keiji's body, I'd probably have posed him on my bed. You have more restraint than I do." Kasumi told her.

"Not really, Kasumi. The thought did occur to me, that is why I said it." She said sadly.

Kasumi looked away then back at Shepard. "Why would someone hire a raw rookie for a contract killing?" Kasumi asked.

"I'm afraid someone may have seen they share a name and assume they share skills." She said in frustration. "He doesn't know Thane is dead, I had that record sealed until I could notify the family. He is a teenager. He has feelings he doesn't know what to do with. Right now they are focused on Thane. He loves him. He hates him. In both cases he wants to be like him. Maybe if he feels that if he becomes enough like his father, that his father will love him again. He is trying to feel close to him in the only way that he can. On the other hand, his father chose the job over him, so he would follow in his footsteps out of spite, to hurt him the only way he can."

"I can't decide which of those ideas are worse." Kasumi said.

They walked onto the Citadel, through the security checkpoint and up to Bailey's desk. I am trying to find my son. We think a local criminal might have hired him. Can you tell me if a Drell has passed through here recently?" She asked.

"Your son is a drell?" Bailey asked in confusion.

"He is my son through my lifemate. His father is dead. He does not know yet. I'm trying to find him, will you look it up?" She asked.

"That should be easy," said Bailey. "We don't see many drell here." Bailey scanned his report terminal. "There we go. One of my men reported a drell not long ago, and he was talking to Mouse. Interesting."

"Mouse?" Kasumi asked with a shiver. She hated mice.

Bailey waved his hand. "A petty criminal," he said. "Probably not the guy that hired your boy, but a messenger. He's a former duct rat; runs errands for anyone who'll pay."

"What sort of trouble has Mouse been getting himself into?" Shepard asked.

"Odd jobs for shifty people," Bailey replied. "Duct rats take whatever's available to get by…data running, fencing stolen goods, selling illegal VI personalities…actually, he was selling one of you."

"Me?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"Yeah…when you erased a file a file it would say, 'I delete data like you on the way to real errors.' Buggy though, crashed every half hour. The error message was about how the galaxy was at stake and you should fix the problem yourself." Bailey chuckled.

"That's rather…extreme of you Shep."

"Real funny Kasumi."

Shepard shook her head and smiled. "Can you tell me more about duct rats?"

"It's local slang for poor kids that grow up in the station. When they are small they tend to play in the ventilation ducts, where adults can't get to them.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"Yes," Bailey sighed in disgust. "Every couple of months we pull a little body out of them, lacerated by fan blades, broken by a dead fall or suffocated by vacuum exposure…those are just the ones we know about; more just disappear…maybe getting sucked into space or fall into the protein vats the keepers run. Mouse survived long enough that he can't fit in the ducts anymore. He was one of the smarter ones…or the luckier ones. Mouse is usually upstairs outside the Dark Star. He works out of a public comm terminal…oh – you should pick up a copy of the Shepard VI when you're talking to him." Bailey grunted and turned to Thane. "Sounds like your boy is running with the wrong crowd."

"Yes," she said. "I agree."

"If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly, he'll know who can. I'll help you if you need it."

"You don't really know us Captain, why are you going out of your way to help us?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I've worked Zakera Ward for two years…every day kids turn to crime because they've got no other choice, their parents don't care. You are trying to save your son."

"He faces a dark path," she said using Thane's words. She gave Bailey a nod of thanks and headed for the Dark Star.

Kasumi stopped her. "You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone."

"He's a cop. He'd try to stop Kolyat…and one of them could end up dead. I won't let that happen."

Kasumi nodded "Quick thinking, Shep."

As they approached a young man outside of the Dark Star fitting Mouse's description, they over heard him talking about being able to acquire something, about it being more expensive, and about how he had received a package. She interrupted, "Are you Mouse?"

He spun around. "Shit!" He gave Shepard a wide eyed stare. "Commander Shepard? I thought you died…what do you want with me?" He asked in confusion and fear.

Shepard stepped forward, placing a hand upon Mouse's shoulder. "Be still Mouse," she said. "You can change your pants in a moment." With a little _friendly_ persuasion they were able to get the name of the man that hired their son, Elias Kelham, as well as a copy of the Shepard VI from Mouse.

"Elias Kelham?" she asked.

"He runs the rackets on the lower end of the ward. Shin Akiba…he's seriously bad news."

"You did good Mouse."

"If I can live long enough to pat myself on the back," Mouse said nervously.

"Kelham will never know." Shepard reassured him.

"Yeah, right…I'm out of here." Mouse said and disappeared.

"Let's have Bailey bring him in." She said and they headed back down to c-sec. Bailey wasn't too happy when he learned of Kelham, since they belonged to the same back-scratching club, but he would help them as a _silent_ partner…and keep Kelham's attorney at bay as long as possible.

Once Kelham was locked comfortably into an interrogation chair, Kasumi moved in front of him while Shepard circled around the back of the chair.

"Who the hell are you two?" Kelham demanded.

"My name's Shepard. I'm a Spectre."

"Prove it." Kelham sneered.

Shepard pulled her Mattock and placed it against his cheek. "I don't have to prove a damn thing, Spectre's are above the law. Are we clear?" She asked in a deadly calm voice.

"Crystal." He said coldly.

Shepard snapped her gun to her back. "Good. I'm glad that wasn't too difficult. This can end so much better…for you…with a little cooperation. Lucky for you, it's not you I'm after. You contracted an assassin. Who's the target?"

"Joram Talid. A turian. He's running for office. Lives in the 800 blocks."

"Thank you for your…assistance. You won't see us again…unless you fuck up too badly…and I'm in a bad mood. No offense, but you're a problem below my pay grade." Shepard said as she walked they walked out the door.

"I'm impressed Shep…that may go down as the shortest interrogation ever."

After she explained to Bailey what was going on he informed her of Joram Talid's anti-human propaganda. He then ordered a car to take them to the 800 blocks.

Shepard told Kausmi that she would follow Jordan and his Krogan bodyguard from the catwalks above, and asked Kasumi to track them from the shadows below. They synced their omni-tools for an open-comm. She leaned over and gave Kasumi a brief good luck kiss and she raised herself to the catwalks above.

Shepard was disgusted with Talid's blatant human defamation and shake-downs. The man was scum; a criminal. Perhaps she would whisper in a few ears and bring him down. She followed them until she could make out Kolyat below. She lowered herself to the floor below, "Kolyat," she yelled trying to distract him. Kolyat brought his gun to bear and shot the bodyguard. "Kasumi!" she yelled, amped her power and charged. She tried to pull up when she noticed the doors were closing, but missed by a hair, rebounding off the door and onto her ass.

Kasumi gave her a hand up. "Very graceful, Shep."

"Bite me." She said more than a little embarrassed.

"I prefer a little more love and a little less teeth." She joked as they entered the apartment and saw Joram Talid fall to his knees, Kolyat holding a gun to his head.

"Kolyat." She said.

"Who the hell are you and how do you know me?" Kolyat scoffed.

"Help me human, I'll do whatever you want." Talid pleaded.

Bailey and another officer walk in. "C-Sec…put the gun down son." Bailey's firm voice rang with authority.

"Get out of my way. I'm walking out and he's coming with me."

"They'll have snipers outside." She said calmly.

"I don't need your help," he sneered. "All of you…back off. I'll kill him." Kolyat threatened

Shepard had heard enough. She flung a stasis bubble at the c-sec officers to hold them off, turned and threw her arms outward sending Kolyat and Talid flying in different directions. She raised her right hand, lifting Kolyat in the air. When Kolyat turned the gun on her Shepard moved her left arm forward and drew it back to her quickly. The gun was ripped from Kolyat's grasp and his mouth fell open in surprise. Shepard caught it in her left hand, spun it around and snapped it to her hip. Kolyat's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he stared in awe at her. She sent him a wink and his mouth slammed shut.

Talid had been propelled against the left most wall and was getting shakily to his feet. "Talid – get the hell out of here!" Shepard yelled in his direction without taking her eyes off Kolyat. She hoped like hell he'd still be hurting come the morning.

When the door closed behind Talid Shepard lowered Kolyat to the ground. She put a barrier bubble around the three of them, flipped on her omni-tool set it for both dampening and enacted her private encryption program, so that anything that might be heard outside the bubble would not be understood. When she completed this she released the c-sec officers from Stasis.

Kolyat took an agitated step forward. He pointed a finger at her. 'I read his files; I know what he does. He kills people who do bad things."

"Kolyat -" Shepard began.

"Don't 'Kolyat' me...You bitch!" Kolyat said bitterly. "What made it all right for him to kill for so many years?"

"He was six when the Hanar began to train him, he didn't know any better. He loved your mother. He loved you."

"Then why did he leave us?" He demanded. "Why wasn't he there when she died?" He lashed out, anger lacing every word.

"He had no other skills to fall back on. He did not know how to live his life any other way. I'm sorry. Those men…They killed your mother to get to Thane."

"What?" He asked in shock.

"When your mother died Thane left you with your family so that he could go after those men. He killed them all for what they did to your mother."

Shepard started to grow dizzy. She was too drained to keep the bubble in place. "I'm sorry, I'm too drained to keep us shielded" she said. And the barrier bubble winked out.

"He stayed away because he didn't want you tarnished by his life. He thought you would have a better life…a safer life without him in it."

"I guess it's too bad for me he ignored me, huh?" Kolyat sneered. Angry, bitter tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Kolyat, …there are things I need to tell you. Things you need to know…."

Bailey approached them. "This isn't a conversation you should be having in front of strangers. Boys…take Kolyat back to the precinct. Put him in a private room."

Shepard turned to Bailey. "Thank you. That is thoughtful of you Bailey."

"Do you think he's the only one that ever screwed up raising a son?" Bailey glanced away for a moment and then back at Shepard. "Come on, I have to get back to the precinct…I'll give you a lift. You can spend time with your boy when we get there."

She and Bailey started talking about the citadel and c-sec and raising kids. Eventually, he got around to something he had found in the archives. "I ran some searches in the c-sec archives when you first came in asking about the boy. The name seemed familiar to me. About 10 years back a bunch of real bad people were killed, like someone was cleaning house. The prime suspect was a drell."

"Ten years is a long time Bailey. Whoever was responsible for that doesn't exist anymore." She said giving him a pointed look. "And, if you ever happen to discover those particular cold case files have fallen off the books, feel free to let me know, I would be a very grateful Specter indeed." She said flashing him a smile.

Bailey sat stunned for a moment. Damn if he didn't just notice how beautiful she was. Well, he knew she was pretty…but, that smile…breathtaking. She was so alive, so…there…it was like she stood out a little bit brighter than everyone else. He couldn't help but find himself envious of a dead man. He realized he had been staring and cleared his throat. "Yes, well... if such a thing were ever to happen, I'd be sure to let you know." He looked back down at his console, fingers flying over the keys… "Damn me…I'm sorry ma'am, I just can't find the files you were talking about."

"How disappointing," she said winking at him. "I appreciate you taking the time to look."

An officer came out of the room and nodded. "You can go in to see your boy now Shepard." Bailey told her.

Kolyat turned when she entered, his eyes going straight to Shepard. He took in her tight red silken dress. It shimmered across her white skin. It had thin straps, a deep neckline, and a small hole in the midriff that showed off the ruby that danced in her navel. The dress stretched over her hips and upper thighs, a red mag-belt slung low on her hips, his gun snapped to her side, and a mattock snapped at her back. Red beaded tassels hung down from the end of her skirt to just below the knees. When she walked, the tassels flowed over her legs like water. It was hypnotizing to watch. Kolyat had to shake his head to clear it…

"Commander Shepard," he said, holding out his hand as he approached her. He took her hand in his. "It's such an honor to meet you. You are like the most famous person in the galaxy. The power you have...it's amazing. I didn't even know it was possible for anyone to do what you did…and you're so beautiful." Kolyat said, his cheeks flushing a darker red. He felt a comforting squeeze on his fingers and flushed, releasing her hand. He hadn't even been aware that he's still held it.

Shepard put a hand on Kolyat's arm to hold him still. She placed her other hand on his soft cheek. She sent soothing thoughts to him. "Your father was lost for a long time Kolyat…as you are now. I know it's hard to see past the pain, but I want to help you find your way back. Will you let me help you?" She asked gently.

Kolyat raised his hand to his cheek and covered hers. He gave her a long look and then nodded.

She turned to the table and moved the chairs closer together. She took Kolyat's hand and led him to the table. She bid them him to sit and held out a hand to him. When he took her hand she told him that she needed him to be very open in what he was thinking and feeling…and to not break contact.

She closed her eyes, pushed out and merged her aura with Kolyats. He gave a slight jump and she sent calming thoughts to him. She gave herself a moment to sort everything out.

She opened her eyes and looked at Kolyat. "There are things I told you I would tell you and I think it's time. First, you should know that your father and I are lifemates. We only just found out."

"Lifemates? I've never met anyone who had a lifemate. "It's not right…he abandoned his family to kill people and still he finds his lifemate." Kolyat said bitterly.

"Your father never stopped loving you Kolyat."

"Really? If he loved me so much why isn't he here? Did he leave you like he left her?" Kolyat asked angrily.

"It's not like that Kolyat. Your father didn't want to leave. He wasn't given a choice. He'd be here if he could." She told him.

"There's always been a choice with him. He's always chosen to leave. I would have thought he'd change for his lifemate. But, it seems he doesn't care who he hurts."

She looked at him silently for a moment. This was harder than she'd thought it would be.

"What is the matter, why do you look so sad? Why do I feel such grief from you?" He looked down for a moment and then back into her eyes. "Is it my father?" he asked.

"Kolyat, I'm sorry. Your father was killed. He was dying of Keprel Syndrome and he wanted to do as much good as he could in the world before he died. He took down a very nasty woman, but didn't make it back out. I'm sorry." She said unable to stop her eyes from filling with tears.

"My father was never around when I was young, why should I care if he is dead now?" Kolyat asked bitterly.

She could see the pain that he was trying to hide, but more importantly she could feel the depth of it. He may not want to care, but he did and his heart was breaking. No matter what he told her or how much he tried to hide it, the touch kept nothing from her. "Tell me your story." She said sending his encouraging thoughts.

She learned that Kolyat's anger towards his father began in his 5th year. He was old enough to understand his father's absences and how they affected his mother.

The seventh year of Kolyat's life was the most difficult for him to talk about. Kolyat told her how he'd been called to the principal's office, how the kids made parting jabs about how bad he must have been, how his aunt had been called to pick him up from school. How he'd not been allowed to go home. How he felt when he'd been told his mother had been killed. She told him of the anguish and the guilt his father felt when he came home and found her body. She was, however, careful not to tell him the condition of her body. He told her of his grief the day she was given to the sea.

Kolyat told her of the troubles he'd began having, the nightmares he had as a child. The trouble he'd get in at school when he got older. The fights…the slipping grades. The growing rage he felt for the father that abandoned him…who wasn't there when his mother needed him most…The burning need to find out what had been so important to his father that he would sacrifice his own family…The key-code someone had sent him...The horror that made his father's betrayal so much worse when he discovered the truth…The confusion that followed and a dawning realization. If _that_ life was all his father needed then it would be all he needed too.

She hung her head as the last of Kolyat's feelings washed through her. "I'm sorry, Kolyat. For the pain that you have gone through." She said. "I know that is not enough, but I hope it can be a start."

Kolyat stared her for a moment and then said softly, "Are you? Are you sorry? If he had learned new skills, if he had stayed to be a father…a husband, or if he had chosen to stay home and raise me after mother died, if any of that had happened, you would never have met your…lifemate."

"I'm _not _sorry for meeting my lifemate, Kolyat," She told him firmly. "But, I am sorry that you and your mother had to suffer for me to do so. And I am sorry that he is not here to give you his love…to give you the chance to get to know him." She paused to gather her thoughts. "I wish I could have been there for him when he went after Nausana." She told him.

Kolyat could feel her sincerity. "Then why weren't you there?"

"I have a story I need to tell you. It will be hard to accept and maybe hard to hear. When I have told it, I will let you hear the truth from your father's own mouth. I am hoping that all of this will provide you with some sort of peace." She then told him of her meeting with Thane's spirit and played the abridged recording of their meeting.

He sat quietly for a moment, tears falling down his cheeks and he contemplated all that he heard. He finally nodded his acceptance.

Shepard gave his hands a gentle squeeze. She gave Kolyat her full attention. "I will always be here for you. I am only a comm away. If you ever need to talk to me, please don't hesitate to do so. Your father cared about you, Kolyat. He loved you." Kolyat looked down; she put a hand to his soft cheek and raised his head. "And so do I…don't ever forget that." She could feel the heat in his cheek as he flushed at her words.

Kolyat was both embarrassed and thrilled by her declaration of love. That this larger than life woman could care anything about him was beyond anything he could have imagined. He took her hand from his cheek, gave her palm a brief kiss and released it. "Thank you for…everything. I wished my father and I had the chance to…you know…work things out." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "I also want to apologize for my…behavior earlier. I was angry and confused." He admitted flushing with embarrassment. "I don't want to be a hitman. I want love…a family…a life I can be proud of." He stood up and pulled her up into his arms. "I will never forget what you did for me." He dropped a soft kiss on her lips before clearing his throat and backing away.

They said their goodbyes. As the door closed behind her Kasumi returned to her side. "Tread carefully with Kolyat, Shep. I saw the look on his face when he hugged you. When he watched you walk out the door. He thinks he's in love with you."

Shepard scoffed. "Don't be silly Kasumi. Kolyat might be suffering a bit of hero worship and he's grateful for my help, but that's all it is. You'll see." She said, trying to reassure her.

As she pulled away to talk to Bailey Kasumi hoped she was right. But, she still couldn't help but worry that Kolyat might just decide to push things where Shep was concerned.

"Where do we go from here?" Shepard asked Bailey.

"Your boy shot some people…no one I feel sympathy for, but there it is." Bailey pointed out.

"I watched those guys shaking down businesses and threatening humans. They are criminals." She informed him.

"But he can't just get away with it." Bailey said with conviction.

Shepard thought a moment and then said, "Kolyat wants to make a difference. Have him work for you directly doing community service."

"Community service for attempted murder? Are you crazy? What jury would agree to that?" He asked.

"This would need to remain out of the judiciary; strictly within c-sec…He needs this Bailey. If I were to use my Spectre status to remand him to my custody he learns nothing. Here he has a chance to grow, to build confidence in himself, to do the good he wants to do with his life. He's not the boy you saw. You won't regret doing this Bailey.

"Interesting solution Shepard. It sounds like a lot more work for me…but, better for Kolyat than you springing him…Just so you know, if he's too much trouble, I expect you to get him the hell off my station." He said firmly.

"Understood Bailey…and thank you." Shepard said with a wink.

"Yeah, well -," he cleared his throat. "I'll keep in touch and let you know how he's doing."

Shepard nodded her thanks and they returned to the Normandy.

Once on board it was time to make her rounds with the crew.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 13.5

Return to the Citadel

Shepard had grown accustomed to her morning routine. Roll out of bed… shower, head down to mess for breakfast, hit the mats, make it back to the cabin… and hit the shower again.

During longer jumps between systems or interplanetary travels she was able to catch up on reports, chat with her crew, play cards, she even started taking dancing lessons from Kelly. She had discovered by watching old vids just how sensual dancing could be and how much she wanted to explore that side of herself. She'd even been researching vids on couples dancing. There were several spicy, exotic dances she wished to learn…not that she had a partner. She just needed to make sure she had more than two left feet before attempting them…at least with anyone watching.

It wasn't so long ago that she thought the only way to be strong or to be taken seriously was by being a man. But, she was discovering that there was power in being a woman…That being feminine didn't have to mean being weak. Of course, they still didn't take her seriously – some things never change.

They had completed a couple of small missions the Alliance had requested of her and they were going to head to Omega soon; she just needed to stop off at the Citadel for supplies and she needed to see Kolyat again. Originally she had meant to get Mordin first, but then Liara happened… and since we were already there, Samara… and Thane…had to hit the Citadel for a council meeting…met up with Kasumi…there was Kolyat's fall from grace… It had just seemed to steam roll way off course. Finally, course correction was going to be implemented. Hopefully, the ripples…the butterfly effect would not be – now why did a picture of Garrus pop into her mind? Butterfly wings – oh dear. Yes…well – hmmm, she cleared her throat. Not a place she should be going.

She was sorting through her emails and discovered two that took priority… One was from Bailey about Kolyat and there was also one from Kolyat.

From: Kolyat Krios

To: Commander Shepard

Shep,

I hope that you do not mind if I call you Shep. Commander Shepard seems so formal when you were my father's lifemate. Please do not be offended that I do not call you mother. I just…I don't feel…man this is a lot more awkward than I thought it would be. I just don't have mother feelings towards you. I mean, I don't feel like you're my mother…that I'm your son. Not that you won't make a great mother, and…and maybe I'll have those feelings for you some day. Right now I – wow, this sounded so much better in my head. You probably think it's pretty lame. I like you, ok? You are an amazing woman. I can't wait to get to know you better. Maybe we can do something next time you're here at the Citadel. If you want to, that is.

Captain Bailey has been keeping me busy. I wasn't too thrilled when I learned what I would be doing, but it does beat the alternative. We have been going through Zakera Ward's underbelly…I had no clue how bad it was down here. There are nasty things I don't even want to contemplate. We've laid down a holo-grid and we are going through it square by square cleaning out the filth and clearing out the undesirables. I don't care for the cleaning, and progress is slow…but, it is starting to feel like we are doing some good down here. He also gave me a c-sec cadet suit. I don't get a gun though. He said I'd have to go through c-sec academy training first, no matter how good I am.

Captain Bailey informed me I have you to thank for keeping me out of prison. Thank you Shep for looking out for me. It means a lot to me that you would care that much. Maybe you were doing it for my father, but I like to think you were doing it for me. I get the feeling sometimes that he pushes me so hard because of his own son.

Please come see me when you can. Maybe I can even get a peek at the Normandy while you're here. Stay safe out there.

Yours,

Kolyat

The letter was so achingly sweet. She sent a reply email to Kolyat. She's answered his questions, reassured him, praised him and let him know she was coming in for a visit and that he was welcome to tour the Normandy.

She was also going to give him the chance to see his father…if he wanted to.

Kolyat had begun writing her nearly every day. She did the best she could at keeping up with him. She knew she was all he had.

When they docked Kolyat was at Bailey's desk waiting for her. He looked good in his uniform. She was glad he was doing so well at C-Sec. It did her heart good to see him again. She felt close to him and had found herself missing him.

He scooped her up in his arms and swung her around. Gods he had missed her so much. There was something about Shepard that just drew him to her. He was all but powerless against it. The other young men that bunked with him teased him about his girlfriend, but he didn't care. He wished like mad they were right. He dropped a light kiss on her lips and released her.

She looped her arm through his and gave a farewell to Bailey. When they were aboard the ship, she took him to the bridge to meet Joker. She then took him to the CIC to see the galaxy map and to meet Kelly. Kelly was enthusiastic and full of smiles as always. She showed him the armory, where weapons and armor was stored. She took him to the debriefing room and showed his the large holo of the ship.

She took him to see the cargo hangar to see shuttles and explained how much of a pain they were to fly. They had about as much grace as a brick. She took him down to engineering to see the massive drive core. She chuckled when she saw his eyes light up. It still amazed her whenever she saw it.

She finally got around to asking him if he wanted to see his father. When he nodded they took the elevator back up to the main floor and she led him to the life support room. Thane's chamber was affixed to the wall opposite the window that overlooked the drive core.

Kolyat gasped. His father's chamber has a permiglass front. It looked like he would open his eyes at any moment. As angry as he had been at his father, he'd give anything for that to happen. He moved towards his father and placed his hands against the chamber. "I don't know if I love you or hate you. Maybe both. But I wish you were here with me, dad. She needs you." He said swallowing a lump in his throat. "I need you," he said softly. He felt her warm arms go around him and he turned into her embrace. They grieved together over the loss of a man neither had been allowed enough time with.

She took his hand and led him from the room. They rode the elevator up to her cabin. He looked around in awe at the sheer size of the room. He flushed when he noted the massive size of the bed. He could almost picture her naked, legs spread waiting for him slide into her. He groaned and tried to shake the image out of his head.

He took her hand and pulled her into his arms. "Thank you for being there for me. You have done more for me than anyone ever has. You mean more to me than anyone has in a very long time. I am so full of feelings right now that I don't even know what to do with them." He raised a hand to her face, cupped it and lifted it so he could look into her eyes. "I am so drawn to you. You're all I can think about. You're all I want. I – I love you, Shep. I needed you to hear it as much as I needed to say it."

"Kolyat…I cannot possibly give you what you need. Your father was my lifemate. My soul yearns for the connection it was denied. I feel your father in you and I'm drawn to that…I need that. But that isn't fair to you. I'm doing all I can to keep us grounded to not give in to a temptation that could bite us both in the ass. Do you understand what I'm telling you? Do you understand the precipice we are at? Can you understand the consequences of crossing that line?"

Kolyat was silent for a moment absorbing her words. "I hear what you are saying. You are drawn to the part of me that is my father. Maybe you can't ever love me the way that I love you. Or maybe you are afraid you will. Maybe none of that matters. Maybe what matters is you and I right now."

She closed her eyes trying to fight the way he made her feel. He was younger than her, but he wasn't a child. His species only lived half as long as hers, that evened out their ages…so she didn't feel guilty about that. But she did feel guilty for not being able to give him what he deserved. "I cannot make you any promises. If we cross this line I can only give you the night. Will that be enough for you?" What she worried about even more was if it would be enough for her.

He felt a cold chill run down his back and he shook it off. "Maybe we will have future nights together, maybe we won't. Maybe we will only have tonight. But I will have the memories, Siha and I will cherish them forever."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. "Why did you call me that?"

He looked at her strangely. "Call you what?"

She blushed. "I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong."

He lowered his head and his lips found hers…clung to them.

She moved her lips against his, she applied a bit more pressure, but he still didn't open up. She ran her tongue along his upper lip and nipped his lower lip. He gasped and she slid her tongue into his mouth. She sent soothing thoughts as she rubbed the ridges on his head, trying to sooth him more.

He pulse raced and fire shot to his shaft, it jerked hard and got heavier. He pulled her into his arms when he felt her tongue slide along his. He deepened the kiss and his hands slid down to cup her ass, pulling her into his hardness. He ground himself against her, unable to control what she was making him feel.

She ran her hands up his jacket releasing the fastenings. Her fingers moved up the muscles of his chest and down his arms, taking the jacket with them until it dropped to the floor. She focused solely and completely on them, she didn't want to see the memory pictures right now. She ran her hands down his back and the muscles leapt beneath her touch.

Her fingers skirted the band of his pants and worked their way around to the front. She dropped to her knees, released the fastenings. She pushed his pants over his hips and they fell to the ground. He stepped out of them and kicked them away.

She stared in wonder at his thick, red staff. This is what Thane would have looked like and it nearly broke her heart. She'd give anything to have been given one night with her lifemate. She drew her fingers down his length and he shivered. He was so thick it was daunting. She pushed out and merged their auras. She knew he would feel her sadness but he would also feel her desire.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her hot breath against the tip of his shaft. She grasped him in her hand and her tongue caressed the slit of his shaft. He felt her teeth…a slight nibble…and a soothing lick. She ran her tongue around the head of his shaft, learning him, tasting him, and then she took him into her mouth. She rolled her tongue around him and suckled. His hips jerked and he cried out. She ran her tongue up and down his shaft, nibbling and licking until he thought he'd go insane. She lowered her mouth over him once more…licking…suckling while her hand moved over his shaft. He felt himself swell. He tried to pull her up, but she hung onto him and suckled harder. He ran his fingers through her silky hair. He felt his testicles tighten, his shaft grow heavy. He threw his head back and cried out as he released into her mouth.

She licked and suckled gently until his hips stopped thrusting against her. She was amazed at how swollen and engorged the ribs running down the side of his shaft had gotten. When he pulled her up this time she let him.

He held her face cupped in his hands and stared down at the woman he loved with all his heart. What she had done for him was so beautiful. The memories would stay with him forever. He slanted his mouth over hers.

His hands went to her collar. He wasn't sure what to do. She told him to just give it a tug and he did. The dress slid down her body and pooled at her feet. Her breasts sprang free and he felt himself grow harder. She took his hands and brought them to her breasts. He cupped them, weighed them, learned them. They were soft and resilient. He ran his thumbs over the pink tips and watched in fascination as they puckered and hardened. He could feel her pleasure, he could feel everything he was doing to her and it intensified his own pleasure.

"Use your mouth, Kolyat." She said as she ran her fingers over her nipples. "Lick them, nibble gently, suckle them." She cried out when she felt the heat of his mouth surround her nipple. She flung her head back and hung onto his head when he suckled it.

Gods…he could feel what his mouth was doing and he needed more…so much more. He picked her up in his arms, cradled her next to his heart and carried her to the bed. He lowered himself on top of her, felt her breasts slide against his chest. He rocked his hardness against her heat and cried out. His mouth found hers, their tongues danced and mated. He ran his tongue down her neck and nipped it. Then trailed it down to the tips of her breasts. He flicked the nipple and then rolled it gently between his teeth, he gave it a small nip and she cried out her hips rocking against him. He sucked the hard nipple into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. He kissed his way to the other breast and gave it the same attention. He could feel her hands on his head, caressing him, encouraging him. He trailed his tongue down her belly and dipped it into her belly button.

He ran his hands down her hips, hooked his fingers in the band of the tiny scrap of cloth and pulled it down her legs. He ran his hands back up her legs. Her tight curls framed the portal he wanted to bury himself in. Pink skin fringes nearly covered the opening. She was so tiny he wondered how he would ever fit. He groaned. Gods, he could smell her desire; her pheromones were driving him wild. She smelled so good…he needed to taste her. He ran his tongue through her slick folds until it bumped a swollen nub. She cried out and rocked against him. He smiled. He could feel the pleasure…could feel where it felt best. He treated the hidden nub like he'd treated her nipples and his shaft jerked at the pleasure.

"Put your fingers inside me…yes, like that…curl them up…yes…there…move them against me. Yes..ah..yes."

She was so hot and so tight. He moved his tongue and his fingers against her. He could feel her body tighten. Shit he could feel his testicles tighten. He squeezed himself and flinched at the pain. Worth it. He was not going to come all over her bed. He might have been a virgin, but he didn't need to embarrass himself. She told him she was about to come and not to stop. He quickened the pace and applied more pressure, when her body stiffened he suckled her and she cried out, her hips bucking against him. He felt her inner muscles grip his fingers as she came. He slowed his movements and then slid up her body. He kissed her hard and rocked against her.

She wrapped her legs around him and nodded. He slowly entered her heat. He'd have moved faster if he could, but she was so tight…so hot. He cried out as he felt her clench around him. He was maybe halfway in and he came to a stop. Something was in his way.

She tightened her legs around him and slammed him home. She cried out in pain and held him tightly to her.

He felt her pain. Felt her muscles clench in protest. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hurt you."

"It was supposed to. I was a…virgin, Kolyat. Just give me a moment to adjust."

He looked at her in awe. What she had gifted him with was priceless. "You are my first as well." He admitted, his cheeks flushing bright red. "I love you. I know why I chose you, but why me?"

"There were two others I'd have given it to if I could. But time and fate took from me the two men I had loved. I feel one of those men in you. I needed to be close to you. I needed to love you…if only for a little while. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear."

"You have gifted me with something no one else can ever have. With memories I will never forget. I am buried deep inside the woman that I love. I am happier and more content than I had ever dreamed possible." He said in a strangled voice, his body beginning to shake from holding back.

She loosened her legs and moved against him. He sighed in relief, pulled back and rocked into her. His mouth found hers and they swallowed their cries of pleasure. He moved down to her breasts, nipping and suckling each. Then he grabbed her hips slamming into her harder and faster, grinding against her whenever he was fully seated within her. He could feel her body tighten around him and he gritted his teeth…holding back…waiting for her. "Gods, come for me, siha." He cried. Her body stiffened and he felt her nails dig into his back. He watched her face as she shattered with the force of her orgasm. She was so beautiful. He flung his head back and bellowed as he exploded into her tight, hot sheath, his shaft locking inside of her. He held her tight as he continued to buck releasing more of himself within her. "From the ocean to the shore all that I am is yours…for eternity." He bit down on her shoulder and she cried out. She opened her eyes and saw his beautiful green face, love shining in his eyes as he looked down on her.

"From the ocean to the shore all that I am is yours...for eternity." She bit into his shoulder and took his blood, solidifying the bond as they clung to each other and rode the aftershocks until his shaft released them.

"I love you, Siha," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Thane." She whispered back.

His heart squeezed in pain, but he swallowed it and claimed her mouth once more.

Kolyat felt another cold breeze travel up his spine, it clung to him…he shivered and it was gone; a brief sense of loss followed. Then all he could feel was her small muscles gripping him with the aftershocks of her orgasm. They lay together holding each other even after he pulled out of her. He wasn't quite sure what had happened. Well, he knew what happened...just not how he got there. He broke through her virginity and then she called him his father's name. He just couldn't remember getting from point A to point B and the cold...he remembered the cold. And feeling...his father...his godsdamned father...damn it dad...she's mine. You're dead...leave her alone and go get a grave. He wanted to scream out at his father for stealing something so precious from him. The only saving grace is he knew his father was gone now. He'd felt him go. Good riddance... she was all his now.

After a little bit she rolled him onto his back and straddled him. She kissed his forehead, his eyes, his nose. She ran her tongue along his cheek fringe and nibbled it. She trailed her tongue along his soft cheek to his jaw line and nipped him. His shaft swelled and jerked. She slid her fingers down his belly, his muscles clenching in pleasure and anticipation. She boldly stroked his hard shaft and he groaned and bucked into her hand. She licked and nipped her way down his chest and over his tight belly. She skirted his hardness and nipped his inner thigh. Then she drew one testicle into her mouth and rolled her tongue around it. She pulled back slowly until it slid out of her mouth and she gently sucked the other one into her mouth, lavishing the same attention to it. She straddled his waist and blew hot air on the tip of his shaft. He squirmed and nearly cried out.

The smell of her was tantalizing him. He grabbed her legs and gave her a yank, burying his face between her thighs. His tongue stroked her hidden, swollen nub as she suckled him. When he was at his wits end he gave her another pull and spun her around. He picked her up and lowered her onto him. She was tight and the slide was slow, torturing him with pleasure. When she was fully seated he groaned. He rocked her against him and then lifted her, slamming her down hard upon him. Her breasts swayed with the motion and he was mesmerized. He slammed her harder and faster, nearly delirious with pleasure. He could feel his balls begin to tighten and slid his thumb through her tight, silky curls and rubbed her swollen nub in time to his thrusts. Her body coiled and stiffened, she cried out as she came. He'd never seen anything so beautiful in all his life, the look on her face when she came for him. He would never forget the ecstasy on her face caused by the pleasure _he_ had give her when her orgasm took her. He slammed her down against him until he cried out with his own release. They held each other as their heart beats slowed and the aftershocks came to an end.

She absently rubbed her sore shoulder. Then she looked at his shoulder...there was no sign of her bite. She knew she bit him. She tasted his blood. But there was no mark. No proof. Maybe it didn't happen. Maybe it was in her head. Maybe losing a lifemate had pushed her over the edge of sanity. She felt Kolyats hands slide down her back and caress her ass, bringing her back to the present. "The next time I make you come you will come so hard it will shake the heavens," she whispered in his ear hole.

Gods, she was going to kill him. But he couldn't think of a better way to go. He clung to her tightly. "Gods, how I love you Shep."

"I love you too, Kolyat. But-"

"I know. Don't say it. Just hold me."

A short while later she rolled over and looked at him. "We will have this one last time, Kolyat. I need to be getting you back to Bailey…I have to get back to my mission."

He tossed her on her back and came down on top of her. If this was their last time he would make sure she could never forget it…forget him. He kissed every inch of her body from her forehead to her tiny toe and worked his way back up to taste the very essence of her. He pleasured her until she cried out his name…not his father's. When he crawled up her body to enter her she bucked him off and pushed him onto his back.

She pushed out, merged them, and slid down his body. She moved to the side and pulled her hair out of the way. "Watch me pleasure you," she said seductively.

And he did. He watched her mouth slide over him as she licked and suckled him. When he felt himself swell, she pulled back and pinched him. She did that so many times he had nearly cried himself hoarse with pleasure and frustration. Because they were merged he knew she was suffering right along beside him. He couldn't fathom why she was torturing them both so much. She turned to him, flashed him a wicked smile and he sucked in his breath. Gods, she could bring him to his knees.

He pulled her on top of him and lowered her down on him, feeling her sheath stretch around him as she descended. He gritted his teeth and groaned in pleasure. The need to come was so intense he was beside himself in a frenzy of need and pleasure. He ground her and rocked her against him as hard as he could. They were crying out in pleasure and were shaking hard with the need to come. He felt her tighten, felt his balls tighten. Gods this was going to be close. He shouted at the top of his lungs when his release hit him, he exploded into her womb. But he didn't stop, he couldn't. He slammed her and slammed her, coming harder and harder still. He was going to die. Gods he was going to die. Her body stiffened and she screamed out as an orgasm shattered through her. But he still couldn't stop. They both cried out as they continued to come. Finally, they slowed their frenzied pace, bone weary she collapsed on top of him as their heart beats slowed and aftershocks faded. She had been so right. The heavens shook.

It was at least thirty minutes before they could crawl out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom, set the temp on the bidet and let the cold water sooth her battered lower reaches. It was a damned good thing that she healed fast.

When she was finished she beckoned him to come in. They needed a quick shower before they left. As he stepped into the shower with her, she gave him another first. He had never known just how much fun sharing a shower could be. While she was soaping him, running the loofah and her hands all over his slick body, she discovered a few ticklish spots.

He grabbed the loofah from her hands and soaped her up as well. He eventually tossed down the loofah and just ran his hands all over her soap slick body. Then he proceeded to tickle her mercilessly. She returned the favor until they'd nearly laughed themselves senseless. As she was reaching down for the loofah, she made the cardinal mistake of bending over in front of a naked, hard man. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. He latched onto her hips and pulled her close and slid into her tight sheath. He had no idea how he'd come up with the energy for another round, but probably had to do with the desperation he felt knowing they would be parted, possibly forever, in a few short minutes.

He pulled her up against him, one hand encircled her, his hand at her breast, the other slid down her soapy belly, past her silky, tight curls to her hidden nub. He felt it swell as she cried out in pleasure. He pounded into her from behind, kissed and nipped her neck. She moved off of him in a flash, spun around, clutched his shoulders tightly and pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist as she slid back down his length. He spread his legs a bit wider to support them, his hands working her hips as her breasts slid up and down his chest in time to his thrusts. His mouth found hers and he poured his love for her into his kiss…Their mouths capturing their cries as they climaxed. He crushed her to him; not wanting to let her go…knowing when he did that would be the end.

He sighed sadly, loosened his hold, and then finally released her. She hit the quick dry and walked gloriously naked back to her discarded clothing. They got dressed and made their way back onto the Citadel. When they reached Bailey, she thanked him for allowing her to show Kolyat around the Normandy. She pulled Kolyat in for a hug and he gripped her tightly, not wanting to let her walk away.

"I love you, Shep." He said past the lump in his throat.

"I love you too, Kolyat."

She slid her lips lightly over his, turned and walked back to the Normandy with a heavy heart.

Kolyat watched her go until she disappeared from sight, his heart breaking.

If Bailey knew anything had happened, he didn't let on. He slapped Kolyat on the shoulder and handed him some data OCDs that needed to be cataloged and filed.

When Shepard returned to the Normandy she went directly to her cabin. When the pictures hit her she was ready for them. She curled up on the bed and rocked herself as the pain exploded in her head. She felt a blanket of cold and she shivered. By the time the pictures stopped flowing she was shaking from the agony she suffered. The next time she saw Kolyat she would need to tell him what she was shown.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 14

Omega

Joker commed in and said that they would be reaching Omega soon. She made a quick round with her crew. Nothing had changed with the auras of most of her crew. She had EDI comm Samara and Legion to be ready in 10. She headed to her cabin to suit up.

She had never been to Omega before. It was a very odd looking station. It reminded her of a large mushroom. When they first stepped onto Omega a very happy Salarian ran up to greet them.

"Ah…Welcome to Omega! You are new here aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Fargut - " A batarian walked up. "Oh, Hello Moklan, I was just - "

"Leave Fargut – Now." Said the surely batarian.

"Of course Moklan," he saluted the Batarian. "Whatever she wants."

Moklan shakes his head. "Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega…Shepard."

'You know me I presume?"

"We had you pegged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You are not as subtle as you think." Moklan responded.

"Well, that's saying something, since I tend to be about as subtle as a tidal wave…or a bomb." Shepard smiled when Samara and Legion both nodded agreement.

Moklan stared for a moment. Cleared his throat and shook his head. "So I've heard," Moklan said. "Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife to present yourself."

"Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega…unless I have to." Shepard retorted.

"Things explode around you Shepard. I suggest you _don't_ keep Aria waiting…Afterlife. Now." Moklan demanded, then turned and walked away.

EDI commed, "I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums, where Dr Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station. I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with archangel. There's a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information on him."

"Thank you EDI."

As they proceeded down the hall, Shepard saw a man kick a pleading batarian down to his knees. He had the same armor as the man in Massani's dossier.

"Are you Zaeed Massani?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, that's me. You must be Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save."

"What's your relationship with Cerberus?" Shepard asked cautiously.

"Easy. Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short." Zaeed replied.

"Not many mercs would take a suicide mission for the pay."

"This mission doesn't sound like good business," Zaeed admitted. "But, your Illusive Man can push a lot of credits."

"What are you going to do with him?" She asked concerning the Batarian.

"I'm going to turn him in for the bounty." Zaeed said.

"When you are done with that, head out to the Normandy, we've got a lot to do." Shepard told him.

"So I've been told. I assume the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement?" Zaeed asked.

Shepard sighed. "No, he never tends to be too forthcoming about his_ arrangements_."

"Good thing I asked," Zaeed said. "I picked up a mission before I signed on with Cerberus. Thought you might be interested. Vido Santiago, head of the Blue Suns, recently captured an Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya and is using their workers for slave labor. The company wants it dealt with."

"The refinery will be saved." Shepard assured him.

"Good. Get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes."

The batarian made a run for it; Zaeed pulled his gun and shot him in the leg. "I better turn this thing in before it starts to stink…I'll be locked and loaded next time you're ready to get some killing done." Zaeed remarked as he walked away.

A shiver went down Shepard's spine.

"Are you well, Shepard?" Samara asked.

She gave her a worried look. "I'm concerned about that one. His aura is turbulent. Not evil exactly…but, I'm just not sure he's a right fit for the team. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing…I don't know."

"I would not bet against your instincts. I'll keep an eye on him." She assured her.

They opened the door at the end of the port's entrance hall and entered Omega proper. In front of them was the entrance to the Afterlife club, with a long line of patrons awaiting admittance. Shepard veered right. She would deal with Aria in her own time.

As she passed two Salarians, they stopped her. "Greetings. I was hoping you'd come by. I'm Ish and this is Sel. You look like a good person to know."

"Friendly faces are hard to come by around here." Shepard remarked.

"Reasonable people are more valuable than air in a place like this." Ish agreed.

"Can I help you?" Shepard asked

"I need skilled trustworthy people to take care of some business for me. Nothing Illegal...and it does pay well."

"What kind of business?" Shepard asked.

"The information business. The buying and selling of said information. It's nothing illicit, I just need someone to pick up the data packages and bring them here."

"What kind of information are we talking about?" Shepard asked seeking clarification.

"I didn't want to say anything, but there are certain people that have dealings with people throughout the galaxy. If we were to have information concerning those deals…we could make some ripples around here. Maybe for the better."

"That sounds interesting." She replied.

"Thank you my friends. Just head to Marob's shop on the Citadel and outside Eternity bar on Illium."

She nodded. "I should go."

She headed through to the market district. She passed an angry batarian preaching out against humans. She shook her head. Pot-Kettle hypocrite, she thought as she sailed right past him.

She turned left, descended the stairs and made a few purchases at the Omega Market. She headed left down another staircase, which took her into the slums. The poor were everywhere, some even sleeping on the ground. At least she hoped they were sleeping. She overheard a vorcha talking about feeding soon and needing flesh. He better hope she didn't catch him hunting people. It wouldn't end well…for him. He stopped her when she got too close.

"Leave Human. Tell Captain Gavorn we not kill anyone today!" Shisk ordered.

"I'll just be going," she said, not wanting to deal with his particular kind of crazy today.

"We not kill anyone today. Tell him!" Shisk shrieked.

"See that you don't," she said in a deadly calm voice. "Or I will put you down myself."

The vorcha threw up his hands, growled in irritation, but said, "Tell him!"

Talk about a one track mind. She shook her head in disgust.

She walked over to Kenn's Salvage and noticed a quarian in the middle of repair work. He turned at their approach. "Hello there, My name is Kenn. Might I interest you in some salvage tech? Every credit goes toward a ticket to get me off this forsaken rock."

"I buy a lot of parts and equipment; maybe we can make an arrangement." She countered.

"Well…You seem like a decent person, but you can't breathe a word of it to Harrot." He said and she nodded. "Then we have a deal. Maybe I'll at least sell something to you."

"What brought a nice kid like you to Omega?" She asked curiously.

"My pilgrimage. What money I had was stolen after I arrived on Omega, so I decided to sell salvaged parts. You can see how that's turned out. Harrot's forcing me to sell high. No one will buy from me, when he's so much cheaper." Kenn said solemnly.

"I'll talk to Harrot and get him to ease up." She assured him.

"Anything you do will be much appreciated. His shop's up the ramp over there." He said, pointing to where they needed to go. "Please check out my kiosk before you go."

When she accessed his kiosk, amongst a few other notable items, she discovered he had the FBA couplings that Ken, down in engineering, had told her they needed. Sweet.

Now, let's go see what trouble we can get into." Shepard said

"Shepard Commander, is that wise?" Legion asked.

"I was just kidding…mostly." She said with a wink.

They made their way back up the stairs to Harrot's Emporium. Harrot, the elcor, greeted them. "Tentatively excited: Welcome, human… What can I get for you?"

"Why don't you tell me about the deal you made with the quarian." She said, giving him a hard look.

"If I made such a deal, I wouldn't be inclined to discuss it. Accusatory: I don't see how it is any concern of yours." Harrot replied.

"What if you and I made a deal. You let him set his own prices and I won't break your legs."

"With barely contained terror: You drive a hard bargain, human…Resignation: Very well, I will release the quarian from his promise. Conciliatory: To show you there is no ill will, I offer you a discount on my wares."

Shepard nodded, purchased what she needed and returned to Kenn, who was very grateful for her assistance. He said it would be much easier to come up the final 1000 credits that he needed now that he could lower his prices.

"Here, take this," she said handing him the credits he needed. "Leave this pit."

Kenn was in shock. "Thank you. I cannot tell you what this means to me; to be able to continue on my pilgrimage. I will never forget what you have done for me." He said earnestly and takes off to go buy his ticket.

"You are most kind, Shepard." Samara said with smile as she touched her friend's arm.

"A big heart…It is sometimes a burden." She said. She was not quite sure where that line came from, but she knew it meant something to her.

As they continued to explore she came upon a back entrance to Afterlife. Legion looked around and said, "We do not understand the organic fascination with self poisoning, auditory damage and sexually transmitted disease."

"It's a form of escapism Legion. Emotions can be…inefficient, messy. When emotions run high, good or bad, organics tend to seek ways to revel in them or release them. I've been known to have a drink now and again, but the other two…never could comprehend the need for those." She said with a shrug.

Shepard looked around the bar. Something felt wrong. She closed her eyes, focused herself and opened them. Auras danced and bloomed like a multi-colored rainbow. Then she found the _wrong_. One of the bartenders had an ugly, dark mottled aura that seethed hatred. Interesting, she thought. She released her focus and walked over to the bartender to investigate. Maybe she could get him to talk. She ordered a drink. When she downed it, her heart seized and the world went dark.

Samara watched Shepard go still. Shepard turned to her, eyes large…in shock. She grabbed her chest and fell. Legion caught her before she hit the ground, picked her up in its arms. Samara directed him to the nearest bathroom. She gathered Shepard in her arms. "I'm sorry, my friend." She said and put her finger down her throat until nothing more came up. She still didn't move. She had Legion bring her out into the hall, to get her out of the filthy bathrooms. She sat down next to her friend and held her, uncertain what she could do for the human. She felt a strange pull that left her a bit dizzy. Shepard's eyes blinked open. "Are you okay, Shepard?" She helped her up when she nodded.

"Alcohol is toxic to most carbon-based organs. This reaction seems to exceed expected parameters." Legion stated.

"What happened?" She asked.

A man walked up to them. "I saw everything. That particular bartender hates humans. He has a stick up his ass about some batarians that died awhile back ago. But, nobody does a thing about him because humans aren't held in high regard around here."

"He tried to poison me?" She asked.

"Tried is right. You are the first human I know of to survive it. My friend Jake and I were celebrating. He got real drunk and an hour later he was puking blood." He said sadly.

"He won't be a problem anymore." she said darkly.

Samara noticed Shepard's cold smile. "Justice does indeed need served, what did you have in mind?"

"I think he needs a taste of his own medicine." She said.

"Give that batarian bastard what he deserves!" Said the stranger as he walked away laughing.

Shepard's face was set…her pace determined as she made her way back to the bar.

When she found the bartender he offered her a drink…on the house. She pushed it towards the bartender and told him to drink it.

"No…you should be…no. I won't drink it." He said shocked, when he realized who she was.

"You _will _drink it or I will blind you one eye at a time before I kill you." She promised him.

The bartender grabbed the drink quickly and downed it. He gasped and fell to his death. She wasn't sure how many humans he'd killed in this way, but she sure wished he could have suffered longer.

A nearby Turian nodded to them and said, "That bastard deserved what he got…This shit tastes like poison anyway."

"Let's go find Aria; we've probably kept her waiting long enough." She said with a smile. She headed up the back stairs towards the main floor of Afterlife. On the way there she ran into an old acquaintance. Helena Blake. She'd killed two criminal warlords for her and talked her into retiring. Shepard was concerned about seeing her on Omega.

"Commander Shepard, I'd heard you were dead! I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Helena Blake - "

"I remember…what brings you to Omega?" Shepard inquired.

"What brings anyone to Omega?" Helena asked. "I find the place suits me. I can bring it a certain… air of civility, I suppose."

"I thought I _convinced_ you to retire?"

"Oh no...I did retire. I know better than to go back on my word to a Spectre. You convinced me to turn my life around. I'm a social worker, believe it or not." She assured Shepard.

"Then you have your work cut out for you in a place like this." Shepard replied.

"Doing good work in a place like this requires that one understands how things truly work. Which makes me uniquely qualified." Helena smiled.

"That's…more noble than I expected." Shepard admitted.

"Noble? No. it's just that someone came along a few years ago and convinced me that I could use my skills for a better purpose…and I thank you for that." She said earnestly.

Shepard nodded. "I need to go." Turned and headed through the back door into Afterlife.

As she went up the stairs to meet Aria, one of her flunkies stopped her for a scan. She looked him up and down and walked past him. "I've heard you are the one I need to talk to. Do you run Omega?"

The Asari looked at her and laughed. "I _am_ Omega. Omega has no titled ruler and only one law. Don't FUCK with Aria."

Shepard nodded.

"If I have to remind you I will toss your sorry ass - " Garka said.

Shepard looked at the batarian, pulled in a bit of energy moved her finger up, rising the batarian into the air, moved her finger in a half circle, flipping him upside down, and moved her finger back and forth, causing credits and debris to rain from his pockets. Then she righted him and put him down. "I don't like threats. You'd do well to remember that. Now collect your shit and go." She ordered.

Aria looked at Shepard a moment, calculating. She had never seen a biotic glow like that before. She would have to keep an eye on that one. Shepard was strong …and pretty. And she appreciated both those qualities. Then she looked at Garka and burst out laughing. "You're my kind of woman Shepard…we might just get along after all. What do you need?"

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus. Do you know where I can find him?" She asked.

"Last I heard he was at a clinic in the quarantine zone trying to find a cure for the plague." Aria chuckled then smiled. "I always did like Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"He was part of the Salarian Special Task group. He's brilliant and dangerous." She said with a smile. "But, just don't start him talking. He never shuts up….If you really need to find him head to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they will let you in, of course." Aria explained.

"Thank you for the information." Shepard said.

"Just try not to bring the plague back with you." Aria retorted.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 15

Mordin Solus

As they were exiting the holographic fire tunnel of Afterlife, a batarian stood up and confronted her. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing until now." She said. "But it looks to me like a fool suffering from head-ass-itis. Now get out of my way or I will walk all over you." She said coldly.

"Who do you think you are?" He asked, putting a gun in her face.

"Commander Shepard…Spectre…and you _don't _want to go there." She warned.

"Your odds of survival just dropped down to 2.64%." Legion stated.

The batarian blanched and backed up. "I..uh..don't want any trouble, I'll just be going. Come on," he said to his friends. One of them, stupider than the rest, brought his hand across his throat threatening her.

She sighed, put her arm out and jerked it back, buttons flew from his pants, and his pants fell to his ankles. Oh gross…she thought…did his balls have to sag so low? "You might want to get that fixed." She said as grabbed for his pants and stumbled off after his friends.

"I will never unsee that." She said in horror.

"And neither will I," Samara shivered. "Thank you, Shepard."

With Afterlife behind them, they headed for the quarantine zone.

Samara looked around and turned to Shepard. "When our mission is done and if I am able, I think I will return to this place. Corruption runs deep here."

"Perhaps, when it is done, I will join you."

"I would welcome your company, my friend."

They approached a guard that was facing off with an irate human woman.

"I'm sorry lady, I can't let you in. It's under quarantine, no one is allowed in or out. If you go in there the guards will cut you down." The turian guard warned her.

"It's not right. Everything I own is in that apartment! Besides, I'm human you ass, humans don't get the plague. Now, let me get my stuff out before looters get it." The woman berated him.

"But, it affects every other race out there. The quarantine is in effect until the plague has run its course. I'm not letting you in." He stated firmly.

"I need to reach Mordin Solus, he runs the clinic in the slums." Shepard informed the guard.

"Our orders are to wait until the plague or the blue suns kill everyone and then go in to clean up." The guard replied.

"You're stuck here until the plague is over and that could take weeks. You need this problem solved now. I'm Commander Shepard, Spectre. That's what I do - Solve problems. Let me in and I'll get this district straightened out." Shepard told him.

"Maybe you will be able to fix this. I'll radio ahead and let them know you're coming." Said the Turian guard.

"You're stopping me and not them - you son of a bitch!" The lady fumed.

"You're not a Spectre and you don't have a grenade launcher, lady. Get lost." He replied.

Shepard turned to her friend. "Samara - "

"I am willing to finish this with you, my friend." Samara interjected.

"Samara… If you get sick in there, you will not be able to be a full, productive member of the team. That could cost lives…Our lives."

"Understood, Shepard. But I ask that you link our omni-tools. I will be here for you if I am needed"

She gave her a hug and asked EDI to inform Miranda that she was needed topside.

She nodded to Miranda and Legion and they slipped through the door. She asked if Miranda would accept a good luck kiss. Miranda stoically accepted. She felt herself blush as she felt the gentle slide of Shepard's lips. She wasn't into girls by any means, but she could see why so many were drawn to her.

Samara watched her go with a heavy heart and then began to pace.

They skirted around the guard outpost. When they reached the final guard before the quarantine zone he said, "Good luck in there. The blue suns and the vorcha are shooting anything that moves."

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, they ran into their first blue suns. Two reave waves took the pair down.

"They just left those bodies lying there to rot?" Miranda said in disgust.

"Nothing like the full aromatic bouquet of death and decay." Shepard griped.

They continued on into a back room. She found another power cell for her Arc projector and hacked into a locked door, where she discovered two turians that had been locked in to die.

"It looks like he tried to claw his way out. What a horrible way to die." Miranda said with a shiver.

They headed back out and found a sick batarian. The plague had hit him hard. She went over to offer him some medi-gel.

"Humans. Bad enough you give us this plague, but now you don't even have the decency to wait until I die to steal my possessions." The batarian wheezed.

"I'm here to help you not rob you." She explained.

"Stay back human! Your plague did this to me. Your feigned pity," he coughed, "is the final insult." He coughed some more. "Damn it. Damn you – Can't you just - "

She knelt down and gave him a dose of medi-gel. "I know this won't cure the plague, but I hope it can help you a little."

"You…you helped me. Why?" The batarian asked.

"I'm here to help. That's what I do. I don't know if I can find a cure for this plague, but I'm going to try." Shepard assured him.

"Your words sound sincere. Maybe it's just the fever…but, but it is good to have a little hope. What do you need to know?" He asked.

"Why do you believe humans created this plague?" She asked him.

"The virus is too potent to be naturally occurring; it had to be created in a lab. Humans are the only species unaffected…Sorry, human. You may not want to believe it, but all the evidence points to your species." He told her.

"I need to find Mordin Solus."

"He has a clinic on the other side of the district. He is taking in refuges and helping plague victims. I was afraid to go to him before, but," he coughed, "perhaps he can help."

"Why were you afraid of him?"

"He is no ordinary doctor. Doctors don't execute people and display the bodies as a warning."

"If I find Mordin and he has a cure for the plague, I will see if he can send someone to help you." She said.

"Thank you. Whatever Mordin is, I will risk it if he can reach me." He said.

She nodded to him and moved on. A bit further in was another locked door. She hacked into to find a dead batarian, whose journal log showed he too was locked in, despite not having the plague. Damn it. She was wondering if she was too late to save anyone. She sighed and left his quarters.

She headed in through the next doorway into a much larger room, when she heard some men talking. She signaled for them to go up the stairwell on the left. Looking down from their vantage point, she saw several blue suns below. "Surrender or die, boys." She yelled down at the men. A bullet whizzed by her head. Your funeral, she thought.

"Shepard!" Samara warned.

"I wasn't going to shoot them in cold blood, Samara." She sent out a reave wave and turned to her squad. "Keep an eye on my 6; I'm going to charge down there."

"Shepard, do not do that. I am not there to help, do not go off on your own, stay with your team." Samara implored her.

"Damn it Samara! You're bending me over a barrel here." She said angrily. She lifted and threw two blue suns against the wall, they got back up. Damn…tough buggers. A few shots from her Mattock and they didn't get up again.

"I am sorry, Shepard. Give my old heart some solace. I care about what happens to you."

"Understood," Shepard grumbled.

She turned to her team, "The drone has stopped tagging people, we should be in the clear. Move out." She grabbed some salvage and a medi-gel and jumped the half-wall, lowering herself to the ground while her team headed back down the stairs to join her.

She hacked into another locked door. This apartment was nicer than the previous two she had hacked into.

"Oh… thank god you're human. We thought for sure those turians had found us." The man said.

She saw the two humans across the room and went to greet them… Finally someone alive.

"Ever since this plague started, the blue suns have been out to get us. They're killing as many people as the disease." The man informed her.

He told her how the blue suns had run the district, they were stable and fair..at least for Omega. Then the damn plague hit, everyone started dying, the vorcha started moving in, the blue suns lost control and the district turned into a war zone.

She told them that she was fighting the blue suns and vorcha. She would leave a path for them to follow her to Mordin's clinic. It would be their best chance for survival. She wished them luck and left the apartment to start clearing the path.

As the entered through the door they could make out vorcha and varen. She signaled that she was heading up the stairs. Legion lobbed his drone and opened fire. She looked down at the fight below and took out her Viper. She went back and forth between reave and viper. Concentrating her viper mainly on the stronger armored krogan.

"I'm fine, Samara. They're down." She let her know before she could worry too much. She head down the stairs and met up with Jacob and Legion.

"Looks like we are crossing into vorcha territory. The blue suns have lost a lot of ground. The vorcha must be winning the war." Miranda said.

"Not for long, Miranda…not for long. We're cleaning house."

She circled around the lower floor and went through a door and into another apartment.

"Hey…back off, we got here first." A man told them.

When she walked up to them, one of the men said, "Hey, what did I tell you? The stuff in here is ours."

"Don't worry about it," said his friend. "The stuff in here is junk…worse than the last place we hit."

"What are you doing in here? Did you kill that turian?" She asked.

"Him? No. The plague took care of him; we're just here to take a full accounting of all his worldly possessions." The looter replied.

"We're cleaning out the vorcha. You do not want to blue suns finding out you're looting on their turf…with humans being blamed for the plague, they will shoot you on sight. Is a few stolen trinkets worth dying over?" She warned the men.

"You're probably right, we should lay low. Thank you."

"Do you know where Mordin's clinic is?" She asked.

"Yes, it's right around the corner…follow the red lighting…you can't miss it." He told her.

She nodded her thanks and made her way towards the clinic. She headed down the stairs and followed the clinic signs. She passed a checkpoint with an armed guard and two armed mechs. Mordin meant business. Sick patients lined the walls. She overheard someone talking medical gibberish, so she followed the voice. She recognized Mordin from his dossier photo.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" She asked…though she already knew it was him.

He scanned her with his omni-tool. "Humans, geth…what an odd group. Don't recognize you from the area. Too well armed to be refuges. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Must be here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom not a cause. The plague. Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns…not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists…yes…yes! Hired guns? Maybe - "

"Relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission and I need your help." Shepard interrupted.

"Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading fast. Who sent you?" Mordin asked.

"Cerberus." Shepard replied.

"Crossed paths with them a few times. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request my aid?"

"I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors." Shepard informed him.

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting the slums is engineered. Collectors are one of few who have the technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." Mordin said. "But, must stop plague first. Already have the cure. Need to distribute it at the environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

"I'll take care of the vorcha - " A loud noise interrupted. "What was that?"

"That sounded bad." Miranda said.

"Shepard! What's happening?" Samara asked.

Mordin eyed her OT. "Open comm, interesting."

"Mordin!" Shepard interrupted.

"Oh..yes…Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here is cure. One more thing. Daniel, one of my assistants, went into vorcha territory looking for victims." He took a breath. "Hasn't come back." Mordin said with concern.

"If I find him, I'll help him." Shepard assured him.

"Thank you. Told him not to go. Snuck out. Smart. Bright future. I hope." Mordin said.

"I found a batarian plague victim near the entrance of the neighborhood. Can you send someone to help him?" Shepard asked.

"Risky. District not secure. See what I can do." Mordin responded.

"Now the fun begins. No time to play nice, we need to get the power up. Let's move out." Shepard and the team left the clinic.

"I'm heading in, Shepard." Samara informed her.

"Everything in me wants to tell you no. But, with the power down, the problem just got a lot bigger than you and I. Be safe, my friend."

"You already cleared a path…I will follow it. I will be with you soon." She told her.

They headed out the rear door and up the stairs. They were attacked immediately. Legion's attack drone was unleashed…and it was a beautiful thing to watch. She pulled her sniper and began picking off distracted vorcha. One vorcha kept taking pot shots at her from behind a planter. She threw a shockwave out and he was sent flying. She picked up another and threw it against a column…the crunch was rather satisfying. She was having the best luck with reave, because anything that sent them flying did not necessarily kill them. She'd had more than one flyer come back to bite her in the ass this fight. Reave, however was more draining to her than her other powers. She was starting to feel a little light headed. A vorcha with a flame thrower was making his way around to her side. She took a bead on him with her viper. Damn...too blurry. She shook her head and threw a reave wave in his direction. She fell to one knee and shook her head again to try to clear it.

She stood, legs shaking, in time to see a krogan came barreling around a corner. She grabbed hold of her cover to keep herself upright and sent a reave wave at him, to slow him down…it also hit a couple of vorcha nearby. She hung her head. "Please forgive me." She tightened her fist and began draining him. His body went rigid; a scream, she will remember in her nightmares, ripped from his throat. Blood sprayed from his mouth and nose, leaked from his eyes… then he fell to the floor and moved no more. "Thank you. Sleep well."

Samara dropped down next to her and put a hand on her friend's arm. She saw what happened and saw her friend's misery. "You are a powerful woman, Shepard. But he would have killed you without a thought. You did nothing wrong. There are a lot of people are counting on you to save them. So, let's go save this district."

"Thank you , Samara. How did you get here so fast?" She asked.

"There was no one left to confront me." She told her.

Shepard handed her the Carnifex. Samara gave her a questioning look. She shrugged, "I won't be using it. Mordin says it has a hell of a punch against vorcha…thought it should get some use."

The four of them and the drone continued on towards the rear door, cleaning up the remaining vorcha and krogan. As they neared the Exit sign, a lootdar alert led her to the left where she found a gambling terminal and she hacked it for credits. Then they headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs she discovered a bank terminal, she chose to ignore it. While she would gladly steal from the blue suns, she did not wish to steal from the poor.

They continued up another stairwell. At the top of the stairs were two doors. The left one was a little closer, so she opened it first, standing at the side of the entrance to avoid being fired upon. There she found a group of batarians threatening a human. She pulled back and listened for a moment.

"My name is Daniel; I work for Mordin at the clinic. I'm telling you the truth, I came here to help you."

"We know you're spreading the plague virus…we saw the vials in your bag." The batarian responded in anger.

"No," pleaded Daniel. "Those vials contain the cure. Please…you have to believe me!"

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers…that should loosen your - "

She looked across the doorway to Legion and gave him a nod, he nodded acknowledgement and they entered the doorway. "Look out!" A batarian cried out.

The leader raised his gun to Daniel's head. "Don't move. One more step and I will kill your friend." He warned.

"I'm Commander Shepard. I know you're scared of the vorcha…of the plague. But, this man isn't to blame. If he was spreading the virus, why would he come into vorcha territory? They're immune."

"She's right," said the other batarian. "It doesn't make any sense."

"If we release the prisoner…can we go?" Asked the leader.

"That is how I would prefer this to end…yes." Shepard said.

"Let him go," said the leader and he lowered his gun.

"Thank you…you may leave." Shepard said.

"Human nobility, Commander Shepard…I didn't know such a thing existed." The leader replied as they turned and walked away.

"Thank you," Daniel said. "I thought they were going to…kill me. Did Mordin send you to find me?"

"The professor needs your help right now. He's got too many patients and not enough volunteers." Shepard explained.

"Yeah, ok. I'll go right away. Thanks again. I owe you…well…everything," Daniel responded gratefully.

Shepard handed the medic the med-kit he had forgotten about. They headed to the opposite door. She could hear a vorcha laugh through the door. She ducked in and ran for cover. Two vorcha sniped at them from across the way. The two drones harassed them enough that her team was able to quickly dispatch them.

They went through the next door and down the stairs. When they went through to doorway at the bottom a rocket flew right past her. She ducked and ran for the cover of the railing. She signaled her team to move out along the half wall. She threw a reave wave at vorcha across the way. He ducked and it missed. Damn waste of energy. She then threw her arm out and jerked him towards her. She released him over the atrium below and he fell hard. That was certainly more entertaining. She sniped a vorcha cater-corner from her position.

She moved down the half wall and crouched right in front of the ventilation room door. Legion moved in next to her. She nodded and they stood up sniping the vorcha as they came out of the door. They took down six before the door remained closed.

The drone was continuing to fire upon a vorcha below her under the walkway they were standing on. She tossed down a singularity, but it was not strong enough to pull him out of cover. It was hard to fire her powers blindly and she couldn't see the damn vermin. She aimed a wave downwards trying to toss him…she heard him yelp and the drone moved further away, still zapping him. It grew quiet and the drone winked out. She scanned the atrium below, but her omni-tool radar picked up no other signs of life.

She lifted her arms and lowered them over the half wall to the atrium below. Samara looked at her in surprise and smiled. They skirted the atrium and slipped through the Ventilation Control door. And there was another door…Really? Who designs these places? So many redundant doors.

After going through the second door there was another long hall, 2 vorcha and a krogan popped up at the end of the hall. They took down her shields before she even realized they were there. She threw a reave wave at them, amped and charged the krogan. He lost his footing and fell hard. She rolled backwards and jumped up, mattock in hand, peppering him with bullets. With all three down, they headed into the next room and up the stairs on the right.

"Looks like we are close. Let's get the cure into the system and power the fans back up." Samara said.

As they went through the door at the top of the stairs a vorcha stepped forward. "Ahhh," he growled. "…You no come here. We shut down machines…Break fans! Everyone choke and die. Collectors make us strong!"

"No, the Collectors are using you. When you cease to be of use they will discard you like a piece of trash…if they don't kill you. Open your eyes." Shepard warned him.

"Ahhh," He growled and shook his head. "… Collectors want plague. You…you work for the doctor, turn on machine, put cure in air. We kill you first!"

Six vorcha began raining bullets at them. Six. Really? Cakewalk. The drone shot towards the vorcha. She and Legion took the first bit of cover in the middle, while Miranda and Samara spread out to either side. She and Legion looked at each other, nodded and pulled their snipers. She shot up, lobbed a singularity at the vorcha. Three were swept up in it while the others spread out. Miranda threw a warp bomb at the singularity and the explosion sent the vorcha smashing against the walls. The drone was relentless in its harassment of the remaining vorcha. She and Legion took down everything beyond shotgun reach. A few moments later and the room scanned clean.

"Shepard I've scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and reinitialize the systems there." EDI informed them.

As soon as the cure is in place gunfire broke out. She spun around and ducked behind the nearest cover. She aimed her viper at the two vorcha with rocket launchers on the sniper perch. Two head shots each and they were down. Her team took care of the two on the floor.

"I have located the fan controls. There are two. One on either side of the room you are in now." EDI stated.

"Thank you EDI."

Since the fans are on opposite sides of the room, "Samara and Legion head to the fan on the right, Miranda and I will hit the left one."

"Understood." Samara stated… and then coughed. Samara's eyes shot to hers. "It was only a... tickle."

She gave her a hard look and then nodded. "We need to get the fans on fast before more people die from plague and before the whole district suffocates. This is our best chance. Every minute we take wastes lives. Our omni-tools are synced; we will be in constant contact. Move out."

She watched them head right and then looked at Miranda and nodded. Several vorcha and a krogan raced up the stairs on the left. She hit them with a reave and then sent out a singularity. The vorcha were sucked in, the krogan charged. She backed up, threw a warp bomb at him and kept firing with her viper. She blasted him with a wave and sent him crashing into the wall. She continued to pour fire into him until he stopped moving. They looked around. They heard a vorcha growling, but couldn't see him. She scanned the area and moved until she was in front of his radar ping. She saw him trapped above on a rafter. Two headshots and he tumbled to the floor below. A rocket flew by her. She ducked behind the half-wall. Making it to the damned stairs was a feat in itself. She hoped Samara and Legion were having better luck.

She could hear gunfire over the synced omni-tools. She heard Samara grunt. "I'm okay," she said before she could ask. A few moments later she heard her coughing. "Just a tickle, I am fine." She was very much worried that she wasn't fine. "Almost there," she said.

"That makes one of us," she said.

"Resistance was lighter than expected." She told her.

There were vorcha to either side across the way and vorcha on the floor below. She threw a singularity towards each of the vorcha across from her. One was sucked in and sent flying. A new vorcha came through the door to take his place. She fired at him, he jumped to the side and got sucked into the singularity. Yes!

Another rocket flew by her. That one was closer than she liked. She put two headshots into remaining vorcha across from her. Another came in as he was going down. She reached out, lifted him high, and flung him to the floor below. He crashed into two vorcha and sent them sprawling. Bowling for buzzards…she laughed. She hadn't intended for that to happen. She hadn't even noticed where the vorcha were down there…but, luck and timing could be an amazing combination. She signaled to Miranda and told her to take care of the vorcha.

"Hostiles eliminated." Legion stated.

"It's on, heading back to you," said Samara a few moments later. The fan kicked on, sending debris flying.

She leapt up from her cover and headed for the stairs to confront the krogan. She sent a reave wave at him, amped then charged. She slammed into him and pulled up before she could tumble after him down the stairs. She threw a stasis bubble at him and peppered him with bullets until he dropped.

Time to get the second fan on. She ran down the stairs, through the door and reactivated the fan. It was done.

As she walked back out the door, she met up with the second team. Samara turned her head and gave a light cough.

"A tickle…I know," she said. The cough was lighter than before; the cure must be taking effect. She hugged her friend and they made their way back to Mordin.

"Resistance was much thicker on your route." Samara interjected.

"Luck of the draw." She said. Relieved it had worked out that way, especially since she had been ill.

They walked into the clinic and headed directly to Mordin.

"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done Shepard. Thank you." Mordin said.

"And thank you from me as well…those batarians would have killed me." Daniel said. "For a second there I thought you were going to kill them after they let me go."

"I do not kill someone on the premise that they might do something wrong. They were frightened. They chose not to hurt you, I let them leave." Shepard explained.

"Merciful of you. Risky. Would have killed them myself." Mordin stated.

"Professor, how can you say that? You're a doctor…you help people." Daniel said horrified.

"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients…Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps." Mordin informed him. "Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said."

"He is wise, Daniel. Be mindful of his words." Samara told the young man.

Mordin turned to Shepard. "Good kid. A bit naive. He'll learn. Letting him take over the clinic. Should be able to handle it now that the vorcha are gone."

Samara gave a slight cough and Mordin walked over to her. He looked her over. "Asari. Fine specimen. Voice familiar. Ah, voice on radio. The friend." He said nodding to himself. He injected Samara with the cure to speed up his recovery and gave her a dose of medi-gel.

"Are you willing to help us stop the Collectors?" She asked Mordin.

"Yes," said Mordin. "Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it."

She nodded, looked around and discovered a familiar face.

"I…I know you . From the apartment. You found me." The batarian said. "You told Mordin about me, didn't you? You…you saved my life."

"You look a lot better. How did you make it to Mordin's?" She asked.

"Two of Mordin's assistants found me. They gave me the vaccine and brought me back here once I was stable. They were humans…but, they risked their lives to find me and bring me to safety." He said in awe.

"I hope you remember this the next time you judge our whole species." She told him.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong about you human. I was wrong about a lot of things." He humbly admitted.

"I'm glad to see you are okay." She said and held her hand out to him. He accepted it and they shook.

"I owe you my life…Commander Shepard. Thank you." He said, squeezing her hand before letting it go.

She noticed Daniel in the next and headed over to see him.

"I can't believe Mordin said those things. I thought…I thought I knew him."

"You do know him, Daniel. He is right. If I later find out those batarians that I let go killed a mother and her children or sold them into slavery, then I did a grave injustice letting them go. Could you live with yourself knowing you allowed that to happen because you refused to kill someone evil? Taking evil out of this world can save more lives than healing alone. Think about it." She said, patting his shoulder and leaving.

On the way out of the clinic, she saw the two humans that had been holed up in their apartment.

"I'm glad to see you made it here safely." She told them.

"Thank you, Commander Shepard, for making it safe for us to leave. You probably saved our lives." The couple told her.

By the time she was done talking with everyone, Mordin came out. They left for the ship together. Once on board they headed to the Debriefing room.

Jacob walked in with them. "Welcome to the Normandy, Professor. It's an honor to have you aboard."

"Yes, very exciting. Cerberus working with aliens. Unexpected. Illusive Man branching out, maybe? Not so human-centric?" Mordin asked.

"You are very well informed, Mordin."

"Salarian government well connected. Espionage experts. Had top-level clearance once. Retired now. Still hear things…Informed of name only. No knowledge of man behind it. Anti-alien reputation listed as…problematic. " Mordin explained.

"Humans still come first to TIM, but this mission is too big for them to handle alone." Shepard admitted.

"Tim? Hmmm. Yes. The Illusive Man. Got it." Mordin mumbled.

Jacob broke in, "The Collectors are abducting whole human colonies out on the fringes of Terminus Space…Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals and no signs of an attack."

"Gas, maybe? No. Spreads to slow. Airborn virus? No. Slower than gas. Drugged water supply? No. Effects not simultaneous…Intriguing…fascinating. No distress calls? No signs of resistance? New technology. Marvelously advanced. But what?"

"You don't have to guess, Mordin. We collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyze them and figure out how the Collectors did this." Shepard informed him.

"Yes, of course. Analyze the samples. Going to need a lab." Mordin responded.

"There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order." EDI stated.

"Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesized voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be…no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?" Mordin asked.

"Yes. This ship is equipped with an artificial intelligence." Shepard said.

"Desperate times for Cerberus." Mordin nodded to himself. "Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify…neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to lab?"

"Follow me, Professor." Jacob said and they left together.

Mordin was definitely going to be interesting to work with. She'd probably need an extra cup of coffee or three to keep up with him.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 16

Archangel

Well, time was up for her. She knew Archangel, as a tactical genius and infiltrator could only benefit her team, she had been putting it off getting him because she wasn't sure how she felt about having another turian on her team. She seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for them. Nilhus, Garrus, Qui'in…Of course, the Turian Councilor was not on that list, she thought with a shiver. But Garrus had been at the top of it and she was a long way from over him. Seeing another turian standing at her side was going to be a hard pill to swallow. Archangel had big shoes to fill.

She had Legion and Jacob join her.

"I'm also trying to track down Archangel." Shepard said.

"You and half of Omega." She said. "You want him dead too?"

"Why is everyone after him?" Shepard asked.

"He thinks he's fighting on the side of good. There's no good side to Omega." Aria pointed out.

"Everything he does pisses someone off. It's catching up to him." Aria said.

"Just the kind of guy I'm looking for." Shepard said with interest.

"Really? Well, aren't you interesting!" Aria said with a chuckle.

"I'm more interesting than you will ever know." Shepard said with a small, sad smile.

"You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now." Aria informed her.

"What kind of trouble?" Shepard asked.

"The local merc groups have joined forces to take him down. They've got him cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing him off. They've started hiring anybody with a gun to help them." Aria replied.

"Sounds like that might be our ticket in." Jacob said.

"They're using a private room for recruiting…just over there." She said pointing her to where she would need to go. "I'm sure they'll sign you up."

"I appreciate your help." Shepard told her.

"See if you still feel that way when the mercs realize you're here to help him." Aria said with a smile.

Oh, she'd feel that way all right…I guess things were about to get interesting, she thought.

They exited Aria's loft, and headed over to the right where the recruiting merc stood.

"I hear you're recruiting." She said.

"Hmm. Why don't you step inside?" The batarian said, waving her to the door.

Another batarian was talking to a recruit when she walked in.

"You'll get paid when the job's done, just like everyone else." The batarian informed him. "Who's next?"

"Weeell… Aren't you sweet?" The batarian said after he gave her a good once over.

"I'm far sweeter than you will ever know." She told him with a calculated smile. "But that has no bearing on my abilities. My enemies always fall."

The batarian's mouth dropped open. He shook his head to clear it. "I see," he said pulling at the collar of his armor. "So you are here to fight, then?" He asked in disappointment.

"Absolutely, I will do _whatever_ it takes to win." She assured him.

The batarian nodded. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job's done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armor…looks like you've got that covered. And no, this does not make a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, or the Blood Pack you are a freelancer. Period. Any questions?" He asked.

"Just one…how do I get there?" She asked.

"Just head over to the transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there." He told her. "Send in the next one."

Shepard was appalled to see a kid walk through the door. She asked him what he thought he was doing. He'd told her he grew up on Omega and knew how to handle himself. He'd just spent 50 credits on this pistol and he intended to use it. Shepard grabbed the gun, smacked its targeting VI until it sparked and told the kid to get his money back. Then she smiled at him.

"Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later." She said and turned away. Both the kid and the batarian had been treated to her smile and they just stared dazed as she walked out the door.

They wound their way through the sleazy bar.

She approached the batarian at the transport depot and he gave them a lift to their destination.

"It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight. They tell you what you're up against?" Salkie asked.

"The recruiter was a little vague." She replied.

"We wouldn't get many hires if everyone knew the truth." Salkie admitted.

The attack was taking place at Archangels base across a bridge. The bridge was a killing ground. The rest of his team had been dealt with; Archangel himself was proving to be more difficult. No one had been able to make it through his defenses. The three major rival crime bosses were working together to bring him down. They were to be part of a distraction team, a decoy to keep Archangel busy while the infiltration team flanked him. Diggers and bombers are getting into place to try to get through the passageways Archangel sealed off. They also had a gunship Archangel damaged. As soon as it was repaired, they would go after him again. Archangel was running out of time.

She looked at Jacob. "You are my good-luck giver this mission. Will you allow me a kiss?" She asked him. He nodded and she placed her hand on the back of his neck and slid her lips softly over his. "Thank you." She told him.

Jacob grew hard as a stone. Damn. Her kisses, no matter how innocently given, were as heady as her smiles. How does any man survive that woman?

She entered a side door and discovered a huge YMIR mech; she hacked into it and corrupted its ability to know friend from foe. She just hoped she was nowhere near it when it was activated.

"This unit cannot distinguish between ally and enemy." Legion stated.

She met with all three bosses. She wanted to know them on sight. She took out Sergeant Cathka, the batarian repairing the gunship. She hated having to do it, he wasn't even armed. It didn't sit well with her moral code. But she was running out of time and so was Archangel. It was going to be hard enough getting them all out alive without adding a gunship to the mix.

She followed the distraction team and started picking them off half way across the bridge. Two fell on the bridge. She entered the ground floor of the base. One took her shields before she could even spot his hiding place. The final two were on the second floor trying to break into the room Archangel was fighting from. She advanced on the room. With any luck, they'd all make it out of here alive.

He had no place left to run. The bridge that kept him relatively safe from the mercs also kept him from leaving. He was trapped. He thought back to all the things Shepard had tried to teach him, all the things his dad had tried to drill into him, things he hadn't wanted to hear. Things he wished he'd taken to heart. Lessons he'd learned too late. What happened here was his fault. He couldn't apologize to Shepard; it was too late for that. But he could call his father.

"Dad."

"Garrus? Is that you? What's that noise?"

"Target Practice."

"Then call me back later." His father said briskly.

"I don't think I'll be able to…too many targets." Garrus admitted.

"I just wanted to hear your voice. And I wanted to tell you that you were right about things…a lot more than I gave you credit for." Garrus said.

"Forget about that. These targets…they're moving fast?" His father asked.

"Not yet, but they're learning." Garrus told him.

"No matter how bad things are falling apart around you, as long as you have one bullet left you can still get the job done. Understand?" His father asked. "You finish up what you need to do there and then you come on home to Palaven. We have a lot to sort out."

"Yeah, we do. Thanks, dad. For everything," Garrus said. Garrus sighted down his gun for another shot. The N7 logo popped up in his scope. N7? Alliance? He raised the scope up until it rested on the face of a ghost. No, it can't be her. She's dead. He was just seeing what he wanted to see. But N7…that was Alliance and he might just make it out of here alive after all. "I have to go now. Don't worry about me…I'll make it home when I can. The odds just go a lot better." Garrus said and disconnected from his father. When he peered back through his scope he could not find the N7 armor again. He wondered if he imagined it all. Then he heard her voice and his world stopped for just a second. He needed a moment to get himself together. He held his hand up and sighted down the barrel and took the head off a merc that had been sneaking in.

"Archangel?" She asked.

He removed his helmet and turned to face her. He had to see her. He had to touch her. He had to know she was real. He walked up to her, studied her face. She smiled at him and he was lost. No one had a smile like that. This was his Shepard. Somehow. Alive. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I thought you were dead." He said, barely able to squeeze the words from his tight throat. He ran his hands up her back, cupped her face, tilted it up and kissed her, reveling in the feel of her lips, her tongue against his. Something he thought he'd never feel again. He was whole again…alive again…he felt the merging of his old self with his new self. For the first time in a long time he had a future…something to live for.

Shepard felt her heart squeeze painfully when the turian removed his helmet and turned around. My god it was Garrus. Her best friend…A man she'd loved for so long. A man she thought lost to her, perhaps even dead. She felt a hopeful smile spread over her lips. When he reached her side he pulled her into his arms. She clung to him afraid to let go. Afraid she would wake up or he would disappear again. Then she felt his mouth against hers, his tongue seeking entrance. This was the first kiss he ever initiated. A kiss she would never forget. "You're alive," she whispered. "You disappeared, no one could find you. I searched…I thought – I thought…" her voice trailed off.

"And I saw you die, Shepard. It appears we have a lot of catching up to do. And if you can get me out of this alive, I'll make sure we do it…er – I mean catch up."

"What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"Just keeping my skill sharp. A little target practice." He said. "Killing mercs is hard work..Especially on my own.

"Why Omega?"

"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard finding criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot." He said with a shake of his head.

"How'd you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus Systems?" She asked.

"It wasn't easy. I _really_ had to work at it. I'm amazed they teamed up to fight me. They must _really_ hate me." He said.

"No wonder I couldn't find you…_Archangel_."

"It's just a name the locals gave me for all of my good deeds. I don't mind it, but please," he cleared his throat.., "Hmm…it's just _Garrus _to you."

Garrus looked at her team. "Cerberus? A geth?" He said shocked. "Seems there is a lot we need to talk about."

"This is Jacob and Legion. We'll do more thorough introductions later." She told them all.

Garrus nodded at them both. "We should see what they're up to. Hmmm…looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look," he said handing her his gun. "Scouts. Eclipse, I think."

She scoped the group coming in and noted a few mechs. She blew the head off the closest mech. "More than scouts. One less now though."

"We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from here. You do what you need to do." He paused a moment…"Do you still – er…hmm…have your," he cleared his throat, "good luck system?"

She gave him a bright smile. "Yes, I do... I-" She grabbed her head as her knees buckled. A scream rent from her throat and she fell forward onto the floor and curled up in a ball. A crushing pain racked her skull, her breaths came out labored, and sweat streaked her brow.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled and he dropped to the floor next to her.

"Shepard Commander's platform is malfunctioning." Legion stated.

Jacob looked on in horror as Garrus pulled off Shepard's armor, and peeled down the top of her body suit. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He roared. "She's -"

"I'm trying to help her. Trust me when I tell you I hate having to ask this of you, but I just don't have enough surface skin to help her quickly and we need her mobile now. So, get your Cerberus ass over here and expose your chest. She needs to take some energy from you and skin to skin is the fastest way. Do it NOW before I knock your ass out and do it for you." He said coldly. This is the first time he resented being turian. He wished he could give her what she needed. It pained him that another man had to.

Jacob removed his armored shirt and sat down near Shepard. He didn't understand what Garrus was saying, but if he could help her he would. Garrus moved her into a sitting position in front of Jacob and laid her back against his chest. Jacob put his arms around her to keep her steady. Jacob felt a slight pull and Shepard began to glow faintly. Her hands left her head and gripped his arms. He felt himself grow hard. Damn that was embarrassing, but he wasn't dead.

Garrus' heart gave a painful twist to see her in another man's arms. He heard movement. "Legion man the balcony with me…we have intruders.

Legion and Garrus unsnapped their snipers. Legion sent his drone after the mercs. They greeted the mercs will a volley of bullets…very accurate bullets.

Pictures poured into Shepard's head. She saw pictures of Garrus growing up, a stern father, a gentle mother…perhaps a sick mother. She saw Garrus shooting targets at a young age, Garrus in military armor, Garrus in a C-Sec uniform, Garrus meeting her, Garrus touching her breast, Garrus …oh stars, she didn't need to see that picture to remember that…, She saw herself floating in space, C-sec, mercs, an explosion, her and Garrus together, her and Garrus and Thane together, She saw Collectors, a huge monstrosity, monsters, more pictures of her and Garrus, battles, monsters, loving, biting, destruction, she saw her walking away from an injured Garrus, a bar. The pictures started again, faster…they repeated several times, gaining speed with each renewal, sometimes there were more pictures of them even into old age, a bar, sometimes cut off short with an explosion… They eventually flew by too fast for her to make out anything, finally they slowed to a trickle, she saw N7 in a rifle scope, and finally a picture of herself.

She released Jacob's arms and sat there in shock. How was it possible? It wasn't possible. The pictures can't lie, but it was just not possible. What kind of freak was she? No. No. No. She had a lifemate, death had not altered that fact. No being could have more than one. A lifemate was a soul attachment. No one had two. One soul…one body... one lifemate. In order for her to have two lifemates…she would have to have two souls…but how? It wasn't possible. Was she one of those freak occurrences where she absorbed her twin in utero? Had she taken on a twin's soul? Was that even possible? Did babies even have souls yet if they were nothing more than a mass of cells? Wouldn't there have been some sign on her scans? Surely such a thing would have been found. Some anomaly. Is this second soul why she was so different from everyone else? Her mind was spinning out of control and she slammed on the brakes. She could get a freak on when they were safe. She knew she needed to confide in Dr. Chakwas again. Do research. But, that had to come later; right now she had to save their asses.

"Thank you for your assistance Jacob. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

He backed away from her quickly; he did not want her to feel how she had affected him. "I'm fine. I feel like I just worked out, but otherwise I'm good to go. I can get dressed now?" He asked flushing.

"Of course, sorry." She said as she pulled her bodysuit back into place and reattached her armor. She snapped her guns in place, except for her sniper and jumped to the balcony to help with the incoming mercs.

"Glad to have you back with us Shepard, it appears the list of things we need to discuss is growing." He said as he sighted down on another merc. He moved over next to her, giving his old spot up to Jacob. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

"You have no idea. Some of these _things_ are doozies." She said. "I'm fine. Sorry for bugging out."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the one to help you." He said solemnly.

"You're nearly as good a shot as I am…we needed you on the wall – it was the right call." She assured him.

"Nearly as good as – why you-" He began.

"I love you." She interrupted.

His mouth fell open, his mandibles dropped, his heart skipped a beat and he took a shaky step backwards. Had he heard her right? She still loved him? "What?" he croaked.

She hadn't meant to tell him again like that. She was going to tell him when they had the chance to talk later. "I hadn't meant to say that out loud. But I do still love you. I've been in love with you for years." She admitted.

Garrus plucked the gun from her hands, spun her around and kissed her with all the love he had inside. He pulled back and put his forehead against hers. "I never thought I'd hear you say that again. Spirits, I love you, Shepard. I have always loved you."

"That is real sweet and all, but we're in the middle of a fight here…and there is a very large YMIR that has just been activated. Care to help out?" Jacob asked impatiently.

"That problem will take care of itself…but for god's sake, don't shoot it." She warned him.

The YMIR mech began firing at the mercs. "Yes!" Jacob yelled.

Garrus had thought he could never be happier than when he saw Shepard alive and in his arms…but it is astounding the power those three little words can wield. She was this beautiful ray of light in the darkness that had been his world since he saw her die. He released her and returned her gun to her. He needed this fight over with because he finally had a life worth getting back to…and he could not get back to it fast enough.

When the YMIR exploded they worked together to bring down the rest of the Eclipse. Jaroth, the leader was the last to fall. Garrus had told her he'd been after him for months. He shipped a lot of tainted eezo all over Citadel space. He'd taken out a big shipment and his top lieutenant, so he wasn't surprised Jaroth was willing to work with the other gangs.

"Considering the lieutenant was his brother? You were square at the top of his shit-list." She said.

"His brother? Guess I kicked him where it hurt." He said with a chuckle.

A loud noise shook the place.

"What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

Garrus checked readings on his omni-tool. "Damn, they've breached the lower levels. Guess they had to use their brains eventually."

"Jacob and I will go down and take care of it. Legion, stay here with Garrus. Take care and be safe." She said.

"Shepard-" Garrus said. "I only just got you back…I couldn't take losing you again. I couldn't-" His voice cracked and he couldn't continue.

"You won't lose me. We'll be careful." She assured hm. She gave Jacob a nod and they headed for the stairs.

Garrus watched her go with a heavy heart. He should be at her side. But he knew he was needed here to keep mercs off the bridge and he knew she'd never send her team into an unknown danger without her.

She went down the stairs and through the door behind them. She could see the problem right away. The shutter doors had been hacked open. She ran to the back door and slapped the green pad. Mercs appeared before the door timer could close it. She sent a reave wave at the mercs and peppered them with bullets.

"There are two more doors, Shepard. Be careful." Garrus told her. By the time they'd made it to the second door the room had been overrun with mercs and verran. The fight was tough. Her shields went down a number of times. When they were down to two mercs left she made a break for the door pad. More were coming hot on the heels of the first group. Her shields were down, she needed a few moments…she didn't get them. One lucky bullet made it past her armor and into her arm. Shit! It was pouring blood; it must have nicked a vein. Her shields were still down another bullet pierced her side. The door slid shut and she stumbled to the wall. That was too close. She pulled off her upper armor. She needed to get the bullets out. The wound on her right side was a through and through. It had passed through her armor and her side and got lodged in the rear armor plating at her back. That one would heal fine. The wound on her left arm, not so good. Garrus was yelling that she needed to get to the third door fast…damn it. She removed her right glove, gritted her teeth, and shoved her fingers into the bullet hole to retrieve the bullet. The white hot pain sent a scream ripping out of her. Jacob came running over.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled as he headed for the stairs.

"Stay there! I need you to stay there. It's done now, I'm fine." She said as she threw the bullet across the room.

Garrus could hear the tremor in her voice. She wasn't fine, damn her. Why do people always lie about things like that?

"She's right, Garrus. You are needed at your post. Do not let us get overrun up there. She's fine now and we are counting on you." Jacob told him sincerely.

Damn it. Every part of him needed to be near her…protect her. Knowing she'd been hurt made the need even worse. But Jacob was right, they needed him here. He returned to his post. Every step away from her tore at him painfully.

Jacob was stunned by what he just saw. He had a whole new level of respect for the Commander. The wound in her side was scabbing and the arm wound was only seeping blood since the bullet had been removed. He'd never seen anyone do what she had done or heal that fast.

'I trust that you will keep whatever you think you just saw to yourself?" Shepard asked him with a cocked brow.

"I – yes, ma'am." He told her, gave her a hand up and helped her with her armor.

She and Jacob made a dash to the third door. These mercs had cover behind half-wall partitions. But they stood up to fire and gave them clean shots. She jumped several partitions, made a right at the end of the hall and ran smack into a spray of fire. The heat was so intense she couldn't move. It was like she was moving in slow motion, trying to get away. Pain seared her flesh, burned its way to her lungs. She gave a silent scream and her vision faded to dark.

She gasped. She could breathe again. She was alive. Jacob looked at her concerned. "I'm fine. The mercs ahead have half-walls for cover, but they are an easy shot because they stand up before they fire on you. At the end of the hall, hidden from view is a merc with a flame thrower. We have to be very careful hitting that corner or we won't make it.

Jacob was stunned. How could she know any of that? It just wasn't possible.

"You'll get used to me soon. I'm a little…different." She said as they proceeded through the third door. They mowed down all the guys in the first hall. As she approached the blind corner, she pushed out a shockwave of energy, jumped the final barrier and threw out a singularity. The two mercs got pulled into its force and she took great pleasure raining bullets all over their asses. Vindictive on her part, because detonating the singularity with a warp bomb would have ended things for them much faster. They'd already killed her once; she just wasn't feeling that generous. She jumped a second partition and ran to the far door and slapped the pad. Garrus commed her and told her they were being overrun and to hurry back.

They shot through the door, guns drawn. She pushed out a reave wave, amped and charged three men. The two krogen made a dash for the stairs. The other men had been fodder while they went after Garrus. There were only two mercs left downstairs. She threw a stasis bubble around one of them. "Can you handle these two?" She asked Jacob.

"With pleasure…go kick some krogan ass!" He told her.

She bounded up the stairs in the krogans' wake.

"Automated flight weaponry deployed" Legion said as it released its drone. She shot a reave wave at the krogan. One turned around to face her, the other charged Garrus. She threw a stasis bubble at the charging krogan. The krogan facing her laughed and charged. She waited for the last second and did a flip to the side. His momentum carried him forward, he rebounded off the wall and fell back onto his ass. He growled in fury and she laughed. Legion's drone started shooting electrical bolts at him as struggled to get back on his feet. She picked him up and tossed him against another wall. The drone shot past her and continued to fire bolts at the krogan.

Garrus and Legion had already taken care of the other krogan and Jacob tore up the stairs behind her. She picked him up again, rotated her finger in circles and made him spin. He growled obscenities at her, and told her just what he planned to do to her in great detail. She stopped spinning him and flipped him upside down. Garrus stormed up to the inverted Krogan and stared him in the eye. "That is where you are wrong, Garm," he seethed. "Your filthy hands will _never_ touch my woman." He lifted his gun and shot the krogan point blank in the eye.

She dropped the corpse and sent Garrus a sultry wink.

Garrus walked up to Shepard. His heart thundered; his relief that she was okay was immense. The need to touch her consumed him. He captured her head in his hands, lowered his mouth to hers, and slipped his tongue between her lips.

There were things she had to tell him, consequences she would soon have to face…but right now she met him with equal abandon, her tongue twined with his…dancing, stroking, igniting.

The whirl of the gunship's motor broke through her haze and she pulled him down behind the sofa for cover. They looked at each other a brief moment, unsnapped their guns, and then turned to face the window as the gunship dropped troops inside. She threw warp bombs at the gunship until it backed off. Then she joined the fight against the mercs. When the last one fell she looked over and noticed Garrus was no longer fighting at her side.

The gunship was pulling back. The mercs were nearly down; he moved off and followed the sounds of the gunship into another room. It would surely be dropping off more mercs. He needed to let Shepard know where he was. "Shepard, head over into the next room, I think the gunship-"

"Archangel!" Tarak yelled over his loud speaker.

Garrus spun around as a litany of bullets tore into his shields. He dropped to the ground and crawled behind a large planter. His shields were down he just needed a few moments for them to come back online. There.

"This ends now!" Tarak screamed, firing a rocket in through the open window. A second one followed in its wake.

"Oh crap! Garrus rolled to the side. He needed to run. The first rocket detonated, taking his shields, the second detonated a second later, white hot pain seared through him and his body flung by the force of the explosion. He landed hard, gasping to breathe. He could faintly hear Shepard calling out to him. He tried to focus on her voice. He heard more rockets being fired and waited for the worst.

Shepard took out her rocket launcher, deployed 8 missiles and started throwing warp bombs at the gunship. The gunship went up in a ball of flames. "Take out those mercs!" She screamed at her team.

"Garrus! I'm here. I'm going to get you out of this." She leaned down to his ear canal. "You're my lifemate and I'm not letting you go. Do you understand me, Garrus?" She asked as she pulled off her armored gloves. "Radio Joker; make sure they're ready for us!"

Garrus opened his eyes in shock as she gently turned him over. Lifemates? Was it even possible? He felt a certainty fill him deep inside. It all made sense. He shivered. The pain…the cold…he was so cold. He needed to tell her. "Love y-" he sighed and his eyes closed.

"We better hurry, he looks bad." Jacob said as he gave him another round of medi-gel.

"You're not leaving me, Garrus. I won't let you!" She placed one hand on his the healthy side of his neck and place her other hand gently to the scorched neck of shattered side of his face. She closed her eyes and poured all her energy, all her strength, all her love into him. She pushed out and merged their auras. She watched stunned as black blobs made their way up her arms and disappeared from sight. She could feel that they had been a part of Garrus, so she didn't fear them. She looked at his face and noticed that some of his wounds had vanished. Her cheek was aflame. Somehow,. she had taken on his wounds and made them hers.

The gunship reappeared. She jumped away from Garrus, threw a barrier bubble at Garrus and her team and ran towards the ship. A rocket shot through the window and exploded behind her. She poured more energy into the barrier bubble to keep them safe. But she had lost her shields. She grabbed her rocket launcher and cut loose her last 6 missiles. She was drained, had nothing more to give. Legion was firing at the gunship from within the barrier. She grabbed her AR and started hammering it with bullets. A spray of bullets hit her and flung her backwards. But the rockets had finally done their job. The gunship exploded. The barrier bubble winked out.

The pain engulfed her like an inferno. She used her arm to drag herself over to Garrus. They were face to face, though inverted. She forced her arm out, trying to reach him.

He gasped and weakly opened his eyes. He could see her lying in a pool of blood next to him. He used his last bit of strength to move his arm a few inches so that he could reach her hand. They looked at each other through dimming vision. "Meet me at the bar…" He said with a labored breath and his eyes fell closed once more.

"Let me die...Please…" She said with a rattled, choking breath. Blood leaked from the side of her mouth as her eyes closed.

Jacob was in shock. The Commander was down and he wasn't sure she was going to make it. But he wasn't just going to do as she asked. He wasn't just going to let her die. He reached down to separate their hands, Garrus squeezed to hold on then his hand fell slack. Jacob didn't want her siphoning from Garrus. Garrus may well be beyond saving, but he knew she would never forgive herself if she killed him. He gave her a dose of medi-gel and informed the shuttle to make two beds ready.

When the medics arrived with the beds, he stood back to let them do what they needed to. One took care of the Commander's needs; the other went over to the turian. He shook his head and looked up at Jacob. "I'm sorry sir, the turian's gone. What do you want me to do?" He asked.

"Everything you can to bring him back." Jacob said solemnly.

The medic nodded, removed the turian's armor, angled the syringe, depressed it into the lifeless heart and hooked him up to a breather. He started 2 IVs, one with turian blood, the other with nutri-bac and dextro-nutrient mixture.

They medics pushed the beds to the shuttle; they all climbed in and headed for the Normandy.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 16

Second Heartbreak

Massive sized bullets had nearly obliterated all of her internal organs. That she had managed to stay alive was a miracle itself. Occasionally she would surface, wheezing out, through torn lungs, what sounded to be Garrus' name and something about a bar before they would increase her sedatives. Her body had such a high metabolism rate it was proving difficult for them to keep her locked into the healing coma.

Over two weeks in a coma, scans three times a day, around the clock visitors willing to give her their healing energy, Mordin and Chakwas agreed that it was time for sleeping beauty to awaken.

Shepard was in a strange place. It wasn't dark like before. It was light, but everything was unclear, distorted, like she was looking through the wrong end of a lens. She could hear words floating around her, but she couldn't make sense of them all. She felt her husband, he was nearby, but she couldn't find him. At least she had Garrus. She had been so worried about him. Last time she saw him she wasn't sure he was going to make it. But he looked good. He was the only real clear thing she could see.

He took her hand and led her through a door of what ended up being a bar. Garrus and his bars. He loved them. The bar came into clear focus, which was quite a relief.

"Thank god…get me a drink, I need one."

"You cannot drink anything here…it would - er…hmmm…poison you."

"Realy, Garrus? Great choice in bars."

"Next time," He shot her a forlorn look. "We'll drink ourselves under the table. I promise we will."

He was sad and quiet, not acting like the man she loved at all. The man she loved was so full of life. He literally burned with it. When she asked where they were all he would say was the bar. Well, she'd gathered that much. They sat down on a sofa along the wall. He pulled her onto his lap and held her.

"How am I supposed to meet you here when I don't know where here is?"

"I will bring you, vela. I promise you. I will not let you make the journey alone."

"What does vela mean?"

He looked thoughtful. "Your translator can't translate it?"

"I have no implants, Garrus. So, that would be a no."

He looked at her in surprise. She was a remarkable woman. But he'd always known that. "I guess the closest translation would be 'my heart' or 'my love', both of which you have."

"As you have always had mine, Garrus. Always."

"How did you know we were lifemates, vela?"

"Because I absorbed your DNA when we kissed. The first time we kissed, in the elevator too much was happening and then I died. Or mostly died. But this time your kiss let me see your memory pictures. Pictures of your life…your past lives. I saw them all. I saw us. We were lifemates in all of your past lives."

"That is strangest thing I think I've ever heard…but I know it's true. I feel it. How did you end up finding me?"

"Liara, a drell named Feron, and a geth named Legion – the one you met earlier, stole my body from the Shadow Broker. He was going to sell me to the Collectors. They took me to Cerberus, who promised to rebuild me. Thankfully they needed me just as I was, so they didn't tamper with me any more than it took then to kick start me back into life. The implants they used to that effect I had Chakwas remove as soon as I could. I was told hundreds of thousands of human colonists had vanished. I went to one such colony and discovered the Collectors were taking the colonists. I agreed to go after the Collectors. I was given a new, better Normandy and all the resources I could use to achieve that goal. That also included a pile of dossiers on the best of the best. I just needed to talk them into joining me. Archangel was one of those dossiers."

He sat stunned for a moment. She had been through so much. And now the Collectors. And he couldn't be there for her. He couldn't protect her. She had to face this alone, without him and it wasn't right. "I was in a bad place when you found me, vela. I was doing some good for Omega…I think, but I was in a bad state. Your death…broke me. You were my sun…my everything and when I saw you die, my world shattered. It was dark and barren. Seeing you again…holding you. You saved…my soul. I am at peace now. As much as I can be."

"There is something else I need for you to know. I need to be the one to tell you. I don't want you to find out from someone else." She said stroking the side of his face. "Just know that I love you. I have always loved you and nothing will ever change that." She took a deep, shaky breath. "When I kissed you I discovered I had two souls. I'm sorry Garrus. I am. I don't know why I have two souls. I hope to find out someday. But with two souls… I had a second lifemate. I know it's hard to imagine…It's hard for me to accept." She said holding tightly to him.

A tear slipped down his eyeplate. "I would never be happy sharing you, vela. And I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm glad you have him. I would not want you to be alone, especially with what you have to face. The Collectors…the reapers. I'm glad you will have someone to lean on…someone to protect you."

"He died, Garrus. We never got to complete the bond. And why would I be alone? Won't you be by my side? We're a team, aren't we?"

Garrus hung his head. "There is no place I'd rather be than at your side. But there is someplace I need to be. I'm sorry. I'd give anything to change it. Sometimes the choices are not ours to make."

"No…I just found you. Don't leave me again. I couldn't survive it." She couldn't stop the tears from falling and she couldn't stop her heart from breaking. She was his lifemate. What was more important than that?

Garrus clung to her desperately. "Spirits, vela. I don't want to go. I'd never willingly leave you. I couldn't. The choice isn't mine. Never mine. And you will survive this. You have to. There is too much at stake. You are the strongest person I know."

"Maybe you gave me that strength." She said quietly.

"No, vela. It is you who give strength to those around you. You always have."

"Then I will go with you."

"No one else can do what you do, vela. There is too much at stake. You could never turn your back and let everyone in the galaxy die. Not when you are the only chance they have. They need you."

"Maybe I need you…It's not fair, Garrus."

"No, it's not. My place is at your side…forever."

"We are a team, Garrus. There's no Shepard without Vakarian."

"You have that backwards, vela. There will always be a Shepard. But there's no Vakarian without Shepard. There never was. And there won't be until we are together again. I promise you, vela…I will come for you as soon as I can."

"Take me from this place, Garrus. I want to be alone with you. I want to make love to you. If you are leaving me again then I need you inside of me. I need that memory of us."

"Spirits, vela…are you trying to kill me? I would love to lose myself inside of you. But I can't risk binding you to a dead man."

"Your…dead?"

"Do you think anything else would keep me away from you?"

She began to hyperventilate. The pain was too intense. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I failed you."

"Never, vela. You didn't fail me. I put myself in that situation. All the choices were mine. Leaving C-Sec, going to Omega, going after the gangs…they were all _my_ choices. Choices I would change if I could…but you _never _failed me. I failed you."

"I was supposed to save you, Garrus. I've seen your memory pictures. We were supposed to have a long life together. We had children…Things were not supposed to be this way. I did something wrong and we are all paying for it."

Garrus' heart squeezed painfully. He was to have a lifemate…be a father…it was all so much more than he ever could have dreamed and it had all been yanked out from under him…under them. He couldn't fall apart right now. She needed him to be strong. "Sometimes things do not go according to plan. If I had stayed at C-Sec, we would have found each other at one of your stops at the Citadel. None of this would have happened. Vela…it's _not _your fault.

She ran her fingers over his face plates and along his mandible. "How can I touch you? Am I dead too?"

"No, vela. You will survive. While your body is healing, you were drifting. I found you and brought you here. I do not know why or how we were given this time together, I will just cherish it."

"If I can touch you…then we can.."

"I will not bind you to a dead man, vela. I do not know the consequences that would bring."

"Don't complete the bind."

"I already started it when I bit you. I claimed you as my mate. I took your blood into me. If the physical act is completed then the words are all the keep the bind from happening and I don't know if I can stop from saying them. The risk is too high. But there is nothing I want more than to be one with you."

"But I have not bitten you. I've not taken your blood. Would the bind be complete if I refrain from doing so?"

"Vela, the bind occurs because of _the heat_…I don't know how you would be able to stop yourself from completing the bind. I don't think it is something that can be controlled."

"Garrus, you died before we could bind. When I return to my body you cannot die again. I do not think there will be any consequences…perhaps my soul will be at peace having found you or perhaps it will ache more…but since you cannot die again, your death cannot take me with it. So take me somewhere private or so help me I will take you right here on this sofa in front of everyone. Don't for a moment think that I won't. I've waited too many years to have you, Garrus. And if this is my only chance, I'm damn sure going to take it. Your fate is sealed, husband…I will have you…you cannot stop me…but you _will_ love every minute of it."

Garrus grew so hard he was fit to scream. He was concerned for her, but what she said made sense to him. And he knew her determination. Now that she'd made up her mind, nothing would stop her. And he didn't want to. He'd waited far too long. He let go of the bar and concentrated on the Normandy and the bed they'd slept on together.

"That's more like it," she said when the scenery shifted to one she was much more familiar with. The Normandy SR1...and their cabin.

Right now it was their time. A time years in the making. Their clothes melted off. She repositioned herself to where she straddled his hips. She reached up and pulled off his visor, setting it on the table behind her. "I've waited so long for this, Garrus. I'm - " she flushed, "so wet for you right now." She admitted.

His shaft jerked painfully and swelled. He groaned. "Do you know what you do to me?" He ran his hands up the back of her thighs, sunk them into the soft flesh of her ass and pulled her into him, rubbing her against his hardness. "Every time I'm around you, I'm hard as stone, wanting to bury myself inside of you."

"Every time?" She asked seductively, rubbing up against him. "If I had known, you'd have been mine that much sooner …care to teach me how to make you writhe in pleasure?" She ran her hands over his carapace, it was hard, but smooth to the touch. Probably from years of rubbing against his armor. His carapace cut up in the front covering his ribcage, protecting his heart and lungs. Below it was a trim, very well muscled belly. She grabbed his hand, ran her fingers from his palm to the tips of his blunted talons. Her tongue trailed the same path, when it got to the tip of his talon she slowly inserted it into her mouth, her tongue swirling around it, and then she slowly pulled it out.

Garrus shivered. "I don't think you will have any problem making me writhe, vela." He said with a nervous chuckle. His eyes went to her breasts. He remembered very well how the tip hardened at his touch. He ran his thumb pad over the darker tip of her breast. It hardened and puckered.

She sucked in her breath at the rough contact of his thumb. She took both of his hands and brought them to her breasts, cupping them. "Touch them, hold them, squeeze them gently. Use your mouth gently on my nipples…use your tongue." She flushed thinking about just how good he was with his tongue.

"Your skin is turning pink." He said as he learned her breast, the weight, the feel…they were so soft.

"Yeah…I was remembering your tongue and what it could do to me." She said blushing even harder.

"So was I," he said thickly. He captured her nipple with his mouth, gently rolling it and then flicked the tip with his tongue. His shaft jerked when she cried out in pleasure. He treated her other breast to the same attention. He was learning fast just how much he loved breasts…well, hers anyway. He still couldn't get over how much this beautiful woman loved him…desired him. How easily and completely she responded to his touch. The beast within was eager but quiet, it knew it would be getting what it needed this time.

She put her hand behind his neck and placed her lips against his mouth. She ran her tongue along the edge of his mouth; he crushed her to him and deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced and mated.

Shepard stood up and held her hand out to him.

He took it and allowed himself to be pulled off the sofa. She kneeled before him and ran her hands down the muscles of his belly, they rippled and flexed at her touch. She placed her lips against his belly and gave it a slight nip. She trailed her tongue down. He groaned. As hard as it was he gave her time to look at him.

His taloned toes spread wide to support his weight. He had a thick calf muscle that his legspur grew out of. She ran her hands up the backside of his feet, along the bulging calf muscle to his legspur. She grasped each spur and slid her hand up and back down its length twice, before resuming her upward journey. His thighs were trim, wide spread, but very toned. She slid her hands up the front of his thighs, feeling the way his muscles roped over them. Then she turned her attention to the part of him she'd been wanting to become familiar with for years. His penis and testicles seemed to have emerged from a pouch. His testicles were a little smaller than a human's, but much tighter. His shaft was thick at the base, thicker than a human's, but it tapered as it went. It was probably nine inches in length and ended with a more pronounced head. The edge of head had more depth and odd lumps on the underside of the edge. His shaft was flesh toned. She ran her fingers from the tip down to the base. It was damp to the touch, but not wet. Made sense if it had to easily slide out of a pocket.

He gritted his teeth when he felt the heat of her stare. Her gentle touch nearly undid him. His shaft jerked in response. He looked down at her and nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her suck one of his testicles into her mouth. He felt her twirl her tongue around it and then she did the same with his other one. His shaft swelled. Her hand encircled the base of his shaft; she gave it a gentle squeeze. He felt the heat of her tongue as it slid from her hand to the tip of his shaft. His hips bucked against her. "Vela," he said in a strangled voice. He wanted to back away, uncertain of what she was doing, but she had a firm grip on him. He felt her hot breath on the head of his shaft; her soft tongue flicked the small slit. Then he was inside her soft, hot mouth and he had no more thoughts of backing away. He had no more thoughts at all. He felt her tongue roll over the head of his shaft and then she suckled, his hips bucked wildly against her and he cried out from the pleasure. Nope, she was not going to have any trouble making him writhe. In fact, she was going to kill him. That he was already dead didn't matter…She'd kill him again…he just knew it. Between her hand, her hot mouth, her tongue and her suckling, he was done in. His shaft grew so thick he knew he was getting too close. "Shepard, stop."

She ran her tongue over the small slit and looked up at him. "Am I doing something wrong? Is there another way you'd prefer me to do it?"

"Not wrong…just - hmm…you're about to – er…I'm about to…I'm not ready to end things just yet." He admitted.

She gave him a wicked smile. "I don't think that's going to be a problem." She told him and slid him back into her mouth.

He felt a hard suckle and he was lost. His hips bucked, he threw back his head and roared as he exploded into her mouth. She continued to suck lightly and his hips continued to rock against her. He had never felt anything like that before in his life. He was stunned by the depth of her giving and if he could love her any more than he did he would.

He held his hand out to her and pulled her up. He lowered his forehead to hers. "Thank you, vela…no one's...umm, I've never - "

"That was the first time anyone's done that for you?" She asked gently.

"Yes…a turian's mouth is not exactly designed for…that." He shivered in horror of the mere thought. "I've never been with another species before."

"I wasn't sure what you would like…if I do something you don't like tell me…I want this to be perfect for us."

"It is, vela. I don't think there is anything you could do to me that I wouldn't like. I'm liking it all too much." He admitted.

"Good. Because so am I." She said and ran her tongue along his mandible, suckling its tips.

"Spirits…even that feels like heaven."

"You haven't seen heaven yet," she said seductively, as she took his hand and led him over to the bed.

He felt his shaft harden. Damn if she wasn't right…it was not going to be a problem. He followed her up on the bed and laid between her legs. He ran his tongue down her neck to the tip of her breast and flicked it. He gently nibbled her nipple and gave it another flick.

She needed them connected. She pushed out and merged their auras. Love, desire, and pleasure coursed through her, intensifying her own feelings.

He could feel his mouth at her breast. Like it was his own nipple being flicked. It was the strangest sensation since he didn't have a chest…at least nothing remotely like hers. He could feel her emotions and they heightened his. In fact it was hard to tell whose was whose. He trailed his tongue down her flat belly and dipped it into her navel. The jeweled belly ring danced on the tip of his tongue before he moved lower. He gave the side of her belly a nip and then reached up and grabbed a pillow. "Lift your hips," he said and slid the pillow under her, raising her hips to the optimal level. Allowances had to be made for his carapace.

He spread her legs and stared down at the core he remembered so well. He could smell her desire and the need to bury himself inside of her nearly overwhelmed him. He trailed his tongue up her inner thigh and nipped the top of it. Trying to give himself a moment to calm down. When he had control of himself he slid his tongue through her damp folds to find the hidden button that gave her so much pleasure last time. His hips jerked when his tongue nudged the button. Damn that felt too good. He twirled his tongue around the bud, gently nipped it and flicked it with his tongue. She cried out and bucked, her thighs cradling his head. He ran his tongue down her slit and entered her. He could feel her tiny muscles gripping him. He curled his tongue up just a little and she cried out again. His mandibles flared. He remembered just where she liked it. He continued to flick the spot then withdrew and lavished the nub with equal attention. He flicked his tongue faster and harder over the nub. He gently inserted one of his talons into her. He felt her body grow tense. He reached down with his other hand and squeezed the tip of his shaft hard. He did not want to come with her.

"Garrus…" She cried out. "I'm about to …ahhh.." her world shattered as she came.

His hips bucked when hers did, but he thankfully didn't come. He slowed his movements against her button, coming to a gradual stop. He sunk his tongue into her one last time to savor her nectar, gave her nub one final flick, and then crawled back up her body. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and held him close. He wished he could stay here in her arms forever.

"I love you, Garrus," she said as she pulled him in for a kiss.

He jerked the pillow out from under her hips and she gave a startled gasp as her ass hit the bed. She gave his tongue a little nip and then soothed it with flicks from her tongue. He wrapped his tongue around hers, squeezed it and pulled back to look down on her. "I love you, vela. Are you ready to be mine?

She gave him a soft smile. "I've been yours for years…You've kept me waiting too long, Garrus."

"We have both waited too long." He told her.

He pressed the tip of his shaft at her core and slowly slid in. He could feel her sheath stretching to accommodate him. She was so hot, so tight and her muscles were clutching at him.

As he slowly slid in deeper she said, "Do you remember the night before Ilos? I went down on the elevator that night to tell you how I felt about you, but I couldn't bring myself to risk our friendship."

"I wish I'd have known. I nearly lost it when I saw you in that little black scrap. I wanted to bury myself inside of you and never leave." He looked down at her with all the love inside him. "There was only one before you…I'm not exactly a lady's man…I'm a little awkward - "

"And it was endearing. I too have only been with one other. I had wanted to give my virginity to you, but the attack robbed us of that. When I came to you couldn't be found...I thought you were..." She shook her head and groaned in pleasure.

"You wanted to give me your innocence?" A warmth spread through his heart. "If I could go back, I would wait for you... I guess I kind of thought you and Kaidan...at least he made it seem like you had been together."

She put a finger to his mouth. "Never. He came to me the night before Ilos wanting to take our relationship further, but my heart already belonged to you, it had been yours for quite some time."

He pulled out and slowly slid back in, he cried out from the pleasure of her tight, hot sheath. When she moaned he began to move faster and harder. He could feel her soft petals brushing his shaft as he entered her. He felt the beast inside growing frantic, pushing at him. He grabbed her hips in his hands and began slamming into her.

"Yes!" She cried out. He could feel her body coil tighter. Their combined pleasure was too much for him. His shaft swelled. The pressure was intense. The head of his shaft started tingling, the beast within pounding at his head until he tore his way through. Ancient words fell from his mouth. "All that I have…all that I am…is yours…for eternity." He threw his head back and bellowed as he exploded deep inside of her, prongs anchored him tightly. He fell on top of her and sank his teeth deep into her left shoulder.

Pain mixed with the pleasure of her orgasm. Her eyes went vacant. A past memory surfaced. "Yes," she said softly. "All that I have, all that I am is yours…for eternity." And she bit into his tough skin hard.

She pushed his head to the wound he'd made on her shoulder. "Bite again…Drink from me." He wasn't sure why he complied, but he placed his teeth gently over the holes already there and bit down, fresh blood flowed and he lapped at it. He felt strength and heat pour into him, it was nearly narcotic. She groaned and bucked against him.

When he pulled back he could see the tiny wounds already clotting, healing. She was remarkable. And she was his in every way. He felt himself anchored deep inside of her. This remarkable, beautiful, larger than life human was his Lifemate. He knew she had told him that while he was dying. But, the reality of it was overwhelming. The beast within receded and fell completely silent. It got what it was after all along, its job was done…his soul was finally complete and content.

He adjusted them slightly so they were on their sides. He ran his fingers through her sweaty hair. He could feel the tiny aftershocks of her orgasm, made all the more intense from their connection.

"Garrus, one of your…prongs is hitting me just perfectly inside. I can't stop…coming." She said breathlessly.

"I know, I can feel it. Spirits…" he gasped as his shaft swelled hard and fast. He brought his blunted talon down to her hidden nub and massaged it until she stiffened, brought his mouth to hers and muffled their cries as they came again.

"Garrus…" She said after a few minutes.

"I know, but we're fine. I don't have anything left in me." He assured her. Her muscles continued to squeeze and caress him. His jaw fell open when he felt himself swell and his balls grow tight. "If I'm coming again…you're coming with me." He said breathlessly. He massaged her hidden nub again and lowered his mouth to her breast. A gentle nip and he flicked it with his tongue. He wrapped his tongue around her nipple and squeezed. Another orgasm shook them. He saw stars for a moment, and then sank his teeth into her shoulder, lapping at her blood as she encouraged him. He felt her bite and sense of peace flooded through him. His mind returned to their predicament. He knew he'd probably pass out if he orgasmed again, granted that would solve the issue, but not in a way he wanted. So he had to figure out another way. He turned over on his back so that she straddled him. He could feel the head of his shaft touching her womb. They smiled at each other at the same time. Because he was seated deeper inside her, the pressure was taken off the prong anchor and it stopped stimulating her, thus her aftershocks lessened and came to a stop. His shaft finally released them. As he pulled out she severed the connection and fell on top of him.

"That was a ride I will never forget, husband." She said into his ear hole, utterly exhausted.

He stilled as a wave of joy hit him. He was her husband…she his wife. Bonded as deeply as only lifemates could be. "Nor will I, wife." He told her. She had given him the most fulfilling, most mind-blowing sex of his life. He wished with everything in him that he had more time with her. He rolled them onto their sides and draped his leg over hers.

She picked up his hand and looked at it. Ran her finger across a blunted talon. "You are the only turian I've met that trims his talons. Why are yours shorn so short?" She asked him.

"For you. I've worn them short ever since…well, not long after I met you. I had to be near you and didn't want to risk hurting you. It took me a long time to whittle the quick back this far…but I'd never be able to touch you the way I have if they were long and sharp. And I like touching you." He said seductively.

He was the sweetest man. "I was gone for two years and you kept them short?" She asked.

"I guess it was a way to help me remain close to you. And I'm more than glad I kept it up." He told her honestly. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

She jumped back and pushed him down. "I want to see it happen." She said.

"See what happen?" He asked curiously.

"I want to watch little Garrus come out to play." She said suggestively.

He fell back against the pillows and groaned. He was sure he'd have performance anxiety now. "A watched pot, vela."

"Oh don't be silly, not with me around." She ran her hands up his inner thighs. She nipped the closest thigh. "What is this?" She asked pointing to a hard nub at the bottom of his sheath pocket.

Garrus groaned again. "My urethra." Could he be any more embarrassed? He felt her hot breath on his sheath opening. Then her tongue ran the length of the slit, gently probing inside. He gritted his teeth and curled his toes; he stirred and began to harden…fast.

"You are so fascinating, so magnificent." She said as she saw the head emerge from its protective lair. She bent down and nibbled the tip, and licked the small slit. It jumped into her mouth and she had to back up a bit to laugh..and to avoid being choked. As it rose to its full size the testicles were pulled out of the pocket. Damn if that wasn't one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "69?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. What could an element have to do with what they were about to do?

She laughed, grabbed his legs, pulled him down the bed a bit, turned herself around, laid next to him on the bed and turned him sideways, then ran her tongue the length of his shaft.

Garrus could smell her desire and her hips were right in front of him. 69. He chuckled. He got it…and elements had nothing to do with it. He grabbed her hips and brought her to his mouth. When he couldn't take any more he grabbed her hand, twirled her around, and pulled her on top of him. He lowered her slowly onto his hard shaft. He grabbed her hips and rocked her against him. His head was tilted at the perfect angle to see where they were joined. He felt the connection as soon as she merged them and he grew harder. Her breasts were swaying and her head was thrown back. He worked her harder, slamming her down against him. He swelled further and his testicles tightened. He rubbed his thumb against her hidden nub and she cried out grinding down on him, he rocked her against him twice more before his prongs anchored him deep inside her. He growled out as he erupted into her womb. He pulled her down, bit into her left shoulder and he lapped at the blood that filled him with strength.

"More she said as she held his head to her wound and bit into his shoulder." She pulled up and looked down at him. "Only one time?" she asked.

"Hell, no," he said and turned them on their sides.

His prong struck gold and she moaned. "One of these times we are going to have to ride this ride until the end, husband. I'm game." And that is exactly what they did.

Apparently, they had both passed out after the fourth time, but time had little meaning where they were…there was no way to judge its passing. So they held each other, talked and made love.

"I wish I could come for you sooner." She said wistfully.

"What do you mean?"

She explained to him what she and her other lifemate had discussed.

Garrus was having a hard time wrapping his head around all that she'd told him. It just seemed so impossible. But he knew, if anyone could pull it off – Shepard could. "You could come for me sooner too?"

"Maybe…but some things need to play out for other things to happen. My coming for you early will not affect an anchor point," she said and explained to him what she meant by anchor point. "But could have repercussions on other things. For instance you need your military training or you would be no use to me on my missions. Then there is Dr. Michel. If I'm not searching for you, will we find a reason to go to her clinic in time to save her? Wait. That's a non-issue. I'll see it in your memory pictures."

"That leaves Saren…if you are with me on Eden Prime you will see what he did, how far gone he is and you will still want to go after him. Since they didn't let you finish your investigation, there won't be an effect if another guard handled the case. What else? Damn…Dr. Heart.…Wait…non-issue. I'll see that in your memory pictures too. I won't know the story behind him, but I will know that we have to go after him."

He put a talon against her mouth. "Almost everything you need can be seen in my memory pictures. I want you to come to me during my 8th year of service.

She looked up at him curiously, "Why did you choose that particular time?"

Garrus looked around uncomfortably. Then he sighed and lifted her chin up. "Because the thought of being with another woman when I know my lifemate is coming for me is...er – hmmm… unpleasant."

She blushed, "I understand."

Garrus nodded in relief and dropped a kiss on her upturned lips. "How does it work?"

"I will need to make a mantra with an exact date, time and place of where you need me to be. I will add the word kiss to it, so that when I feel you nearby I will know I'm supposed to kiss you. Of course, that will start _the heat_."

Garrus counted back the years, trying t think of anything significant that happened about that time. "Yes!" he spread his mandibles wide. "There is a tradition on my dad's side of the family. Whenever a Vakarian turns 15, they are taken to a specific restaurant in celebration of them joining the military. It is never skipped. My sister will become 15 that year."

"Let me get this straight you want me to walk into the middle of a turian family party and kiss you in front of turians that probably don't like humans?"

He nodded. "That about sums things up."

"Okay…if you think I'd make it out of there alive…"

"I'd never let anything happen to you, vela."

"What were you like back then? What would you have done if some human walked up and kissed you?"

"If it was just any human, I'd be disgusted. But you are not just any human. I would have been drawn to you right away. The kiss would begin _the heat_ and I would be hard pressed not to take you right there in the restaurant. The point is…that is the most definite date I can give you for that time period."

He proceeded to give her the details. She repeated them word for word and began a second litany in the back of her head.

Shepard looked around. She felt odd.

Garrus looked at her, a sadness settled into his eyes. "When the time comes, vela…will you take my… body to my parents on Palaven?"

"I was kind of thinking of setting up a shrine on the Normandy."

He looked at her in horror. "Please don't do that. I would never want you to hurt yourself that way."

"I was kidding, Garrus…though the thought has some appeal…of course, I will take you to your parents. But I'm keeping your rifle. You loved it. And I need something of you that I can touch."

"I love you, vela. I will come for you when you are ready. I promise I will." He pulled her into his arms and poured his love out to her through his kiss.

"I'm feeling warm and tingly, Garrus."

"It's not me this time…" he said solemnly, trying to hold her tighter.

"What's happening?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice. The heat and tingles were growing painful.

"It's time for you to return to your mission, vela. Thank you for giving me so much…so many new memories. Go save them all. I will be waiting for you, wife…and when your journey is done I'll come for you. I love you." He lowered his head to hers.

She flung her arms around his neck. "I love y-"

She faded to nothing and he was left grasping at the air as her loss tore through him.

"—you." Her eyes flew open and she jerked up. "No! Garrus! Come back." She tried to look around it was bright and blurry, she couldn't make anything out. She began to panic. Harsh sobs racked her body. She felt arms around her and she clung to them.

"I failed him. I failed my best friend...a man I loved. He's dead because of me." She spoke out her misery.

"I'm so sorry, child." Chakwas said as she held Shepard in her arms. Her heart broke for the woman she loved as a daughter. "You must take it easy, child, you've been near death for two weeks."

She was stunned. Two weeks? Two weeks of her life gone? Two weeks since…it happened? "Where's Garrus?" She asked in alarm. "I promised him I'd take his…take him back to his parents on Palaven."

"He's on the Normandy. We have him. Don't worry about it. We'll fulfill your promise."

"There is something we need to discuss, child. Something odd I found in your scans." Chakwas said, giving her arm a squeeze. "Lay back." She swung the scanner arm over Shepard's body and punched a few buttons on the console. The doctor hit a few more keys and blew up her ass.

"Well, that's flattering. Thanks doc."

"Oh hush…it wasn't your ass I was looking at. Do you see these small areas?" Chakwas asked. It didn't make sense.

"Yes, but I don't know what I'm looking at." She admitted.

"You're looking at something that shouldn't be there. I need to run some blood work."

"I don't understand, I heal from everything. Is it some kind of cancer?" She asked.

"I'd say more along the lines of parasites." Chakwas said with a smile.

"Ok, I'm obviously missing something here, doc…because I wouldn't think parasites would be a smiling matter…especially not that size."

"The matter should take care of itself within the next 9 to 10 months." The doctor assured her.

"Why do I have to live with parasites for the next nine or ten months? Can't you do something about it?" She asked.

"Will these parasites hurt me?" She asked.

"I don't know, child. That's why I want to run blood work. I want to make sure they don't."

"Why run blood work, can't you just remove them? Will they hurt me to be removed?" She asked agitated.

"I don't think you will want these parasites removed...or maybe you will. The choice is yours to make." The doctor assured her.

Shepard looked at her in confusion.

"It shouldn't be possible. It makes no sense, but you are pregnant. I need to run blood work right away."

"How far along?"

"Judging by the size and cell division, I'd say maybe two weeks. You must have gotten pregnant just before...I don't know how the embryos survived." chakwas said shaking her head.

Shepard fingered her new bondmark. "Can you test for paternity?"

Chakwas looked confused. "Who have you been with, child?"

Shepard bit her lip. "Kolyat...and Garrus." She said softly.

Chakwas shot her a sad look. "Then it is imperative that we know. I'm guessing Kolyat's the father, since your chemistry is more compatible…but without blood work I won't know for sure. If Garrus is the father of one or both babies, there could be some complications we would have to discuss."

This was beyond the realm of possible. She held out her wrists. "Bleed me dry, doc. But, my blood results do not go beyond you and Mordin. Period. Do not record the results in your terminal, because I cannot know if Cerberus has a tie in. And only speak of the results in Mordin's lab, as he's already disposed of spyware."

"EDI scrub anything you hear in regards to my blood work if you can't keep it out of Cerberus hands. I will never again be one of their experiments. Understood?"

"Understood, Shepard…and congratulations."

"Thank you, EDI."

Mordin took several vials of blood.

She then asked her to lay back on the table, she swabbed Shepards lower belly, put a dab of anesthetic gel on her and inserted a long, thin needle. Using the hologram she gently touched it to the first mass. She withdrew the needle and inserted a second, gently touching it to the second mass. She placed a drop from the first syringe on the scanner nodule of one of the smaller machines on a back table. When a light flashed she flipped to a new nodule and placed a drop from the second syringe. "We should know momentarily if the embryos are dextro or levo."

A holo screen popped up, words, numbers, and letters began filling up the screen. "I'll be damned," the doctor said. "It's just not possible." She said shaking her head.

"Well?" She asked.

"Oh…sorry. It appears they are each going to be a father. Congratulations and...I'm sorry. I will discuss with Mordin any possible dextro complications and we will work up a plan of action. Barring any news the blood work might show and despite everything you went through, both you and your babies appear to be in top health. Now get out of here. You've hogged that bed long enough. I will talk with you later tonight about it." Chakwas backed off to give her a moment to herself.

Shepard spun around on the table and hopped down. She felt so alone. It was so hard to absorb everything she was just told. The impossible had happened…not that that was an uncommon occurrence with her…but the depth of emotion left her stunned and exhilarated…and scared out of her wits. They were in the middle of a war with the Collectors…and soon another war with the Reapers…they all needed to be at their best and she was pregnant...Pregnant and very much alone. She had lost both of her lifemates...and life had become too much to bear.

She slowly slid into her clothing. She was a bit weak. She saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to get a better look. She made her way slowly to the bed in the far corner. Oh, Garrus. He was hooked up to machines and monitors. His shell being kept alive. She took his talloned hand and held it between hers.

Chakwas came up behind her. "I'm sorry, child. They tried to bring him back. We all did. We can't remove him from support without family consent. He's your lifemate…you're the captain…you could-"

"No, I can't. I know he'd want me to…I know he's not in there anymore. But I can't. I'm sorry…I just can't…If he didn't have family, I would…I'd make myself. But, I will not make that choice without their consent. I will contact them soon...I owe them that. I just need a little time." She moved the bedding aside and saw the proof of the bondmark on his shoulder. She ran her fingers over the mark. "You're going to be a daddy, Garrus...I wish you were here." She felt a cold chill envelop her and she shivered.

She leaned over the bed and placed a gentle kiss against his mouth. "I love you. Thank you for finding me. For loving me. I'll meet you at the bar when I can." She stood up, and plucked his visor from a nearby table. This was something else of his that she was keeping. She looked down at it and saw her name inscribed in large letters. There were other names inscribed in a smaller script and one crossed out. She wished she knew the story behind the names. She ran her thumb over her name and held the visor close to her heart as she made it out of the med-bay and headed for her cabin.

When she rolled out of bed her stomach growled. She was so hungry the damned table was looking good. She pulled on her clothing and made her way to the mess. She piled a huge platter full of food. She tore into it with a vengeance and those watching her couldn't help but laugh at the sight. More people began making their way in. She just needed to be around people who weren't trying to kill her. She was a little lost and needed the connection.

Shepard received a comm. It was time to face the doctors. She bade her goodnights and took the elevator up to Mordin's lab.

Mordin and Chakwas had their heads together when the she walked in. They looked up and Mordin hurried to her side. "Shepard. Congratulations. Babies doing fine now. Surprisingly. You should have died in shuttle. Also, anomaly in your blood."

Shepard looked questioningly at Chakwas, who shook her head.

"I can't die. Or I can't stay dead."

Mordin's eyes opened wide and he looked at Chakwas who nodded. He flipped on his omni-tool and scanned her. "Perhaps that explains the anomaly."

"What anomaly?" She asked concerned.

"You are not human." Mordin stated.

"Excuse me?"

"Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes, one pair of sex chromosomes. You have 23 pairs of autosomes. Not human."

"That's crazy, Mordin. That would have been picked up on before. Could the extra set of chromosomes be artificial or given to me by Cerberus when they resurrected me?"

"Doesn't work like that. Born with chromosomes. Probably dormant until triggered." Mordin told her.

"What would have triggered it? My death? Doesn't make sense…I've died many times." She said in confusion.

"Unsure of trigger. Cross-species fertilization not possible naturally. Not human. Makes sense. Sorry, Shepard."

"Mordin…I look exactly human. I bleed human. If I'm not human, then what the hell am I?" She asked in agitation.

"Child, your blood might be red, but it is not human." Chakwas told her, squeezing her hand.

Shepard felt a build up she couldn't control. Her emotions were to fired. Her power amped. She glowed golden and blue until it drained and died.

The doctors looked at each other wide eyed.

"I will run more tests. Will need more blood." Mordin said enthusiastically.

"Be careful with this information. I do not want any records or information getting back to Cerberus."

"Understood, Shepard. Part of STG once. Know what to look for." Mordin nodded at her. He crossed his arms and paced. "Also want amniotic fluid samples."

"Mordin." Chakwas said.

"Sorry. Distracted. Dextro embryo. Embryos lack umbilicus like human embryos. Can pull out dextro embryo. Encase it in membrane bubble tissue. And reintroduce it to womb. Will be painful. Must come in every other day. Flush bubble. Amniotic fluid transfusion and dextro nutrient additives needed to survive. If membrane ruptures…poisoning problematic." Mordin explained.

"If we can get to you soon enough, the damage can be mitigated if not reversed." Chakwas added. "I'm sorry, Shepard it's your only option if you want to give both babies a chance to survive."

"Do it." She said. She felt a bone deep cold and shivered.

"Are you okay, child?" Chakwas asked her in concern.

She nodded. She gave both the doctors a level look. "How will this happen? I want it done now."

"There are two ways we can do this, Commander. One is more risky the other a lot more painful." Chakwas told her. "We can inject a local into your cervix, dilate it and go into your womb that way or we can insert a large needle through your abdomen."

"Give me the needle…even I know opening my cervix could lead to miscarriage."

"Okay," Chakwas said. "We'll do the procedure in the med-bay. We'll take samples of your amniotic fluid and more blood and Mordin can run more tests. "If you are sure you want to do this now, let's be on our way."

Mordin grabbed a few extra supplies and followed them out the door. They rode the elevator down in silence. In the med-bay she stripped down to her panties and bra and lay down on the table. She felt cold chills spread over her body.

Chakwas unwrapped a massive syringe. Eight inches long and massively fat. It looked like a stake and she could feel herself tense.

Mordin flipped on the scanner and pulled up a holo. He zoomed in until the embryos were about the size of a fist. The embryos were highlighted. One red one blue. Because they weren't attached to an umbilicus, they free floated within the womb and they needed to be able to keep track of which was the dextro embryo. A long, hair thin needle was inserted into her abdomen and gently touched the blue embryo mass. They reran the blood scanner for verification. The blue highlighted embryo was levo.

Chakwas rubbed her belly with something cold and astringent smelling and then applied a numbing agent. After a couple of minutes she inserted small syringes full of a local anesthetic around the area the larger needle would enter her.

Chakwas spread her hand against Shepard's belly and place the monstrous needle against her. "Are you ready? Try not to move."

Shepard nodded. A dot of blood welled up and rolled down the side of her belly as the needle sunk through her skin. The pain was over whelming. Sweat beaded and ran down the sides of her face.

Once the needle pierced her uterus, the red embryo and a fair amount of amniotic fluid was drawn up into the syringe. The needle hurt worse as it was being pulled out than it had going in. She gasped and cried out in pain. Shepard felt the immediate loss of the baby and tears slipped down her cheeks. She'd been unaware that they'd even been connected, but the loss was undeniable. She'd felt them from the moment of their conception and hadn't realized it until now. Mordin took the needle and inserted its contents in a tiny membrane. It was drawn back into a wider needle. Damn this was going to suck hard.

Chakwas sent her a worried look. "This is going to hurt a bit more. But we are almost there, Shepard." She said as she applied more local to the site.

Shepard nodded, "Bring it on." Though inwardly she cringed…it was a bravado she did not feel. Shepard metabolized the local too fast, it did no good. When the needle slid in this time a hoarse scream ripped from her throat.

She gasped as the needle withdrew. She could feel her baby again. Relief flooded through her.

Chakwas handed the needle to Mordin and began measuring and scanning the embryos.

"Intriguing." Mordin said.

Everyone in the room turned towards him.

Mordin looked at them. "Oh. Amniotic fluid dense, thick. Full of nutrients. Not human consistency. Womb adjusted to the lack of umbilicus. Found another way. Intriguing."

"You and your babies are a picture of health, Commander." Chakwas said, drawing her attention.

You could see the thin outline of the membrane around the red embryo. Shepard closed her eyes a moment to picture what she wanted to happen and then opened them. She created a barrier bubble within a barrier bubble. The red embryo glowed blue and gold, its membrane completely within a barrier bubble. The interior of her womb was also encased within a blue and gold barrier bubble. Both babies were secure and protected. And like the two mantras that were a continuous litany at the back of her mind, the barrier bubble would become as unnoticed as breathing.

Mordin turned to them. "Glad all is well, Shepard. Must return to lab. Lots of work to do."

She got slowly down from the table and drew on her clothing. She didn't know how it was possible. She lost Garrus, but at least she still had part of him nestled deep in her womb. With the magnitude of her losses, it gave her a small comfort.

The next few weeks flew by. They did a couple of small side missions for the Alliance while she built up the courage to talk to Garrus' family so that he could be removed from life support. She visited him several times a day, telling him how her day went and how the babies were doing. She tried to remain strong for her crew as she struggled with the grief of his loss. At times she could swear she felt him with her. She was so lost. She didn't know how to let him go.

She stopped by the med-lab for her regular flushes. Special attention was being paid to the development of the dextro baby due to the drastic physiological differences between the parents. They assumed some corrective in-utero procedures may be needed. She had told Mordin she wanted it primarily turian genetically if possible. He told her he would give the baby gene therapy as needed during gestation to ensure as many of the human genetic traits as possible remained dormant. That was the best he could do without it having been bio-engineered from the start. This work could be done during the membrane flushes. She dressed and headed for the mess.

After dinner she made her way back to the cabin. Shepard decided to get in touch with Garrus' family, she knew it was past time. She'd retrieved their contact information from Garrus' omni-tool. His last message had been to his dad. It broke her heart when she heard it. He had thought she could save him. She failed.

A male turian answered her comm. "Are you Torlin Vakarian?"

"Yes."

She could feel the chill in his voice. "I am Commander Shepard from the Normandy. I have news relating to your family. Please call them in or give me another time to contact you when they are all available."

A silence followed as he stared at her. "Commander Shepard," he said coldly. "I thought you were dead."

"Death and I didn't get along too well. Seems he didn't want me in his domain."

"Understandable. I guess death has taste."

Ouch. "Not all Spectre's are alike, Mr. Vakarian. Some of us actually have a heart. Please assemble your family."

He gave her another cold stare and turned his head, "Jewels, Solana…Commander Shepard wishes to speak with all of us."

"First off I wanted to let you know that I am Garrus' lifemate."

Torlin made a small choking noise. "That's not possible you are human."

"I don't think the fates care about species. I had two lifemates. Neither were human and neither are...with me."

"What kind of joke is this?" he asked in outrage.

"No joke, sir. I have the bond mark on my shoulder to prove it."

"He may have just claimed you. You don't have to be lifemates for him to claim you." Torlin said gruffly.

"Do you wish me to go into detail about what happens to turian anatomy during the bond?" She hadn't meant to say that, but his denials were beginning to frustrate her.

Toriln cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary. Okay you are his lifemate. How can you have two?"

"I have two souls, Mr. Vakarian. I do not know the why or how of it. I only know it is fact."

She could see the female turians talking quietly to each other in the background.

"Why are you telling us this? This is something Garrus should have told us."

"As you know, the last time you and Garrus spoke he was in the middle of some…target practice."

Torlin looked over at his wife and daughter. He didn't like the sound of any of this. "Go on."

"Garrus took my death badly. Without me there to ground him he…slipped back into his old ways. He backed himself into a corner. When I arrived we took out a lot of …targets. We were nearly in the clear. But a gunship, one I thought I had disabled, took us down. I don't know… When I came to in the med-bay I was told Garrus was pronounced dead at the scene, but one of my team told them to do everything they could to bring him back. I should have died. That I didn't. That I'm standing here is a miracle. I'm sorry for your son. I Loved him a great deal."

Shepard hung her head. Giving the family a chance to absorb what they were told and to give her a moment to collect herself. When she looked back up she noted the women hugging each other in the background. "He asked me to take him back to Palaven…to you. I promised him that I would. When they tried to revive him, they put him on artificial support. I did not wish to remove him from it before speaking to you.

"You can unhook him and ship his body home." Torlin said gruffly.

"No, sir. That I won't do. I told him I would take him to Palaven and take him I will." She paused for a moment. "I would like to see his home, where he grew up, vids of his youth…anything…If you can find it in your hearts to allow me this imposition. I had hoped to marry him there on Palaven." She said softly.

"Absolutely not." Torlin barked.

The women turned on him and ripped him a new one. It was truly frightening to behold. From everything Garrus had told him of his father, she was very sure the man had never been rebuked like that before…at least not by his family.

Julsie turned to face her. "Commander Shepard-"

"Please, it's Shepard. You would have been my family. I don't think we need to be so formal."

"Shepard then…call me Julsie. You are Garrus' lifemate. We are your family. You are my daughter. You, your family and any friends Garrus has...had are welcome to come down for the services. It is customary to just send a note. Thank you for taking the time to notify us in person. It speaks well of you."

They arranged a time of arrival and she agreed to send a guest list of who would be attending.

When they disconnected, she curled up on the bed and vented her grief.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 17

Palaven

I'm sorry…this chapter is massive. If there are too many typos, my apologies…but I'm just not up to going through the ungodly number of pages that this took. :/

The word that Shepard had been given two lifemates spread like wildfire through the ship. Very few were actually surprised. There was something about her than just didn't make it seem so impossible. Their hearts broke for Shepard and all that she lost. Joker, however, was not pleased that he lost the betting pool. The closest date on when they'd get together without going over belonged to Commander Kirrahe. He'd tried to weasel out of it, since Garrus was no longer alive…but the bet hadn't been how long they'd be together but when they'd get together. Discovering they were lifemates was a definite when. Joker grudgingly asked EDI to forward the winnings from his account to Kirrahe's.

On the next mission out Zaeed and Legion were taken. She was bucking her system for this mission. Usually she wasn't sure what she was going to face. This time she knew it was mechs only and she wanted the two best suited for the mission. It is very rare that she bucked her own system. But she was going with her gut on this one.

When the shuttle landed she turned to Zaeed for the good luck kiss. She tried to keep from cringing as her lips met his. Then started down the incline. They were sent to destroy mechs protecting boxes of supplies. A dropship unloaded three YMIRs. She told them they were each to take on one. They had to save as many cargo boxes as possible.

Legion deployed his drone towards his perspective target to draw it's attention away from destroying the precious cargo. Zaeed threw an incendiary grenade and Shepard shot out a rocket from her rocket launcher. The YMIRs turned to face their aggressors and the fight began in earnest. All in all they had been able to save 17 of the 20 crates. Not perfect, but acceptable losses.

They were making a brief stop at the Citadel for gas and supplies. The Citadel was one of the better stops for multi-species needs. Illium was the best, but there were things they needed to do at the Citadel.

Shepard put on an emerald green dress. The main strap was a twisted band of emerald and gold that looped around her neck in halter style. The neckline plunged past her navel in the front and to her hips in the back. From breasts to hip the gown was lined and molded to her, her breasts pushed together by thin bands of gold that ran the width of the plunge. An emerald danced in her navel. The skirt was angled. It came to just below her hips on one side and then angled down to the floor on the other. She wore her gold magbelt low across her hips with her carnifex snapped to her back and gold pumps adorned her feet. She topped it off with gold and emerald dangling earrings and a gold necklace with an emerald pendulum that swung low, kissing the tops of her breasts. Both bond marks could be clearly seen on her shoulders if close enough. Those were her only scars that have never healed. She'd been born with them and she would die with them.

The crew was free for a few hours of micro-shore leave. Shepard made arrangements to meet up with Kolyat. She wanted him to come to Palaven with her. He might not know Garrus, but he was about all she had left in her life and she needed the support.

Her first stop was to David. He embraced her warmly and she clung to him, needing his support...his love. He led her to his table and got them each a drink. He thanked her for the intel she'd been sending back. Nothing incriminating on Cerberus yet, but she was still faithfully sending reports about her missions to the Alliance and the Council just as she'd always done. He told her how sorry he was to hear about Garrus and that he was glad to see her up and around so…quickly. David smiled sadly at his child and patted her hand. He'd always known she'd never lost her powers; he'd gone along with her ruse because he had been against how the military had treated her.

"I always enjoy your visits, child. I'm so sorry for your loss. I always thought you two would be together...you were so in love with each other."

"Why did you think Garrus and I were in love?"

"Because of the way he looked when he thought you'd died. Because of how you looked at each other when you stepped out of Sovereign's debris. I don't know, child. I could feel it. It surrounded the two of you like this impenetrable field."

She nodded. "I've come to discover something that will be highly unbelievable. I have two souls, dad. And each of those souls had a lifemate. The first lifemate I discovered was a drell named Thane. He died before we could complete the bind. Garrus was my other lifemate. You were right in what you saw …in what you felt. Garrus and I were so busy reading wrong signals that we didn't find each other until right before we lost the first Normandy. Everyone else knew all along what we were too blind to see."

"Yeah, I know. I lost a killing in the betting pool." Anderson said with a sad smile.

"Eh tu Brute?" She asked, shaking her head and giving him a big smile.

David sat stunned for a moment. When he gathered his wits about him he looked back at the daughter of his heart. "Two souls…two lifemates. That's hard to wrap my head around…I can't even imagine what you're going through. No one should have to go through what you have. The loss of a lifemate…that's unfathomable...the loss of two..."

"I know, dad. Sometimes the pain is too much to bear." She took a deep breath. "But that's not why I'm here today. I wanted to find out if you wanted to take a political break and go to Garrus' services on Palaven."

Anderson nodded. He didn't know Garrus all that well, but he knew what Garrus meant to his daughter. He knew she was asking him because she wanted his support. "I think Udina would love to rule the roost for a few days in my absence. When did you want to do this?"

"I had hoped to leave here and head directly to Palaven." She admitted.

Anderson looked down for a moment and then slapped his hand on the table with a smile. "Well then, let's get a move on it. Do you want me to fly out with you or would it be more expedient for me to take another ship?"

"No...no. Come with me. I'm about to tell Thane's son, Kolyat, about Garrus and I intend to strong arm him from Bailey so that he can come too. I will need to bring him back afterwards anyway." A megaton smile lit up her face and she jumped up and threw her arms around David. "Thank you, dad!"

Anderson gasped, his heart slammed painfully in his chest…and he was damned thankful he was sitting down. His little girl needed to turn that smile on Udina and Council, David thought…they'd be putty in her hands.

"One more small thing…I'm having a baby, well..two. Dad...one is Garrus'."

Anderson's mouth dropped open. That he had not expected."The other?"

She looked down at the floor a moment. "It will probably be hard to understand, but the other belongs to Kolyat. We turned to each other in our grief." She looked into his face, wondering if he would censure her. But all he did is nod.

He pulled her in for a hug and congratulated her. Even amidst tragedy there is joy.

"Okay, then," Anderson cleared his throat. "You go talk to Kolyat and I'll have a word with Udina and the Council."

She made her way over to C-Sec. One turian approached her. He looked at both of her shoulders. "I cannot believe your mate would allow this to happen. What kind of turian lets another man touch his woman much less mark her?" He asked derisively. "Who is your mate?"

Shepard was so angry at his audacity, his cruelty that she sent a wave of power at the man, toppling him on his ass.

Bailey and Kolyat rushed over to the downed turian. Kolyat looked at her and saw the agony and anger reflected in her eyes. His heart broke that she in so much pain. He whispered something to Bailey. They removed the turian from Shepard's sight.

When they returned to the room Bailey and Kolyat took their real first look at Shepard. The way that dress moved on her was a sin. By the time they returned she had regained her control and a smile lit her face, their jaws hit the floor. "I want to thank you both for your assistance. I'm sorry for the scene. I'll try to explain things to you better later, Bailey. Mind if I steal Kolyat away? I need to have a word with him." She'd already arranged with it with Bailey for Kolyat to have time off if he wanted to come with them to Palaven. Bailey nodded, not trusting himself to say anything without squeaking like a pubescent boy. He returned to his desk and pretended to act busy while he waited for his senses to return.

She turned to Kolyat and held out her arms. He flushed and walked into them, giving her a tight hug. She felt his hardness against her belly, it comforted her. He pulled back and ran his fingers through her hair, in the guise of pushing it out of her face. Her hair felt so soft and silky against his fingers. He would never forget the feel of it. The feel of her. He lived in his memories of her. "I was so pleased when I found out you were returning to the Citadel. It feels like I've been waiting to see you for a long time."

He was unsure how things were between them. He knew how he wanted them to be. How he needed them to be, but he also know she promised him only the one night. A glorious night of discovery and unimaginable pleasure. A night burned into his brain forever. He could still smell her, taste her, feel her hot sheath clutching him while he was buried deep inside of her. Every moment as clear as if it were happening now. Gods, he was so hard. It seemed he was always hard. He loved her so much it hurt. No matter what direction their lives took, even if he never got to hold her again, he would always love her.

She laced her arm through his and they walked over to Apollo's and ordered lunch. They fed each other as they talked about Kolyat's life in C-Sec. As they started on their deserts, she told Kolyat about having two souls…and about her second lifemate, Garrus.

Kolyat tried to hide the flash of anger over her having a second lifemate. He knew she would never be his, but the dream remained. He felt his mood begin to lighten when he recognized the name. "Garrus? As in Garrus Vakarian? The turian that helped you take down Saren?" he asked in awe. Stories flew all over C-Sec about the trio that took down Saren, Sovereign and the geth. They were larger than life heroes. He smiled when she nodded. But the smile didn't last long. He saw the pain in her eyes when she told him of Garrus' death. Shepard had lost both of her lifemates. He hurt for her knowing how much she had lost, but another part of him couldn't help but be relieved. He couldn't help but hope that she would turn to him and accept his love.

"I've been given leave to go with you to Palaven for the services?" He asked quietly. He wasn't sure why she wanted him there, but it meant at least two weeks with her…and that he did want.

Shepard nodded to him again. "I love you and I selfishly want you there. I want you to always be a part of my life. I need you to be. I understand if you don't want to be or can't be…but I needed you to know how I felt."

His heart soared. She still loved him. "I love you, ange. There is no place I'd rather be than with you. I will always be here for you." He put his hand over hers and brought her palm to his lips.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Go get your things and meet me at the port entry in 15."

Kolyat nodded and took off at a near run. She smiled. Right or wrong she needed him in her life.

She met up with a smiling Kolyat and they entered the Normandy's airlock together. She introduced him to Mordin and Jacob.

She decided to finish the tour around the Normandy that she had begun during his last visit. Since he was going to be with them awhile, he needed to be introduced to everyone. She took him to the rec room and told him he could make himself at home and visit here as often as he wanted to. She then introduced him to Zaeed.

They headed back to the elevator and she took him to the main floor. She showed him where the mess was and told him he could help himself to anything he needed. She showed him to the CO's office and introduced him to Miranda.

Samara regally shook his hand and told him with a light laugh that it was nice to no longer be the only blue being on board. She then took him to meet Kasumi who put him at immediate ease. Kasumi was easy to talk to…and she loved to talk. Shepard figured they'd get along famously. She then asked him if he wanted to bunk with the crew. He wanted to bunk with her…but barring that he chose to stay in life support with his father.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. It really had nothing to do with being near his father…but it had everything to do with her. He could tell last time he was here that she spent a lot of time in life support with his father. He'd hoped that would give them a chance to have some time together. She showed him to life support and told EDI to have a cot and terminal brought in.

Their next stop was the forward batteries. She showed him the big guns. She wished Garrus were here. He would be able to tell Kolyat so much more than she could. She wondered if he would be creeped out when he saw Garrus' stasis chamber affixed to the wall. But probably not, she had done the same for his father. There were only two things Garrus loved …her and the forward battery. Since her cabin was not appropriate, she put him where she knew he'd be happy. She didn't care what anybody thought of it.

Kolyat looked sadly at the table, chair and stained coffee cup. It looked as though she spent a lot of time with both of her dead lifemates. It broke his heart that she was suffering and he couldn't help her.

When they left she asked Kolyat where he wanted to go. He said he wanted to head back to his room for awhile. She told him she'd catch up with him at dinner.

"EDI do we still have my old bed?"

"Yes, Shepard. I thought there might be a chance that we would still need it."

"Good call. Have it set up in the Port Cargo. We will be having Councilor Anderson joining us. Have a desk and terminal set up in there as well. Also, can you try to get word to Wrex on Tuchanka and Liara on Illium and let them know about the Garrus' services? I'd love for them to come if they can."

"Right away, Shepard." EDI replied.

"Shepard, can you come see me?" Miranda commed.

When she walked into the XO's room she was surprised to see Miranda in the middle of packing.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. I heard about Councilor Anderson's impending arrival and thought to give him my room for the duration of his stay." Miranda told her.

"Wow. I was going to offer him my room. I put a bed down in Port Cargo and figured I'd bunk there for the time being." Shepard admitted.

Miranda looked horrified. "You are the captain of this vessel. You shouldn't give your cabin up to anyone. No. Absolutely not. He's taking my cabin. I'll be fine down in Port Cargo for the time being. Besides, it is familiar turf for him. He stayed in a cabin just like this one on the old Normandy." Miranda assured her.

She thanked Miranda for her kindness and left her to her packing. Miranda could not have surprised her more. It seems there was more to the woman than the arrogance let on. EDI informed her that Captain Anderson was in the airlock.

She greeted David with a warm hug and proceeded to give him the same tour she'd just given Kolyat. Kolyat was tickled to meet Shepard's mentor. Anderson was a remarkable soldier with an amazing career under his belt…and now he was an actual Councilor for the council races. Kolyat was in the presence of legends and it was as humbling as it was thrilling.

David was humbled that Miranda was willing to give up her room for him, but he told her he would be fine down in Port Cargo. She waved him off, she already had her stuff down there, and she just needed to switch out terminals. David said he would help her, so she left the two of them discussing the Normandy and herself.

Shepard made her way to life support and commed Kolyat. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Kolyat told her.

She walked in the room and the door swished closed behind her.

Kolyat felt himself heating up. He had been deep in a memory of them making love. He was hard as a rock and she walks in through the door. Talk about karma biting him in the ass.

"There is something I wanted to discuss with you. Something that happened as soon as we parted ways last time. I couldn't tell you by comm post…I needed to tell you in person. I owed that to you."

Kolyat looked at her in confusion and worry.

"I am…different from anyone you will ever meet. I have…abilities. One of those abilities allows me to see memory pictures. Memory pictures are pictures of a person's life. Past, present and future. I saw yours."

Kolyat was stunned. It was hard to believe such a thing was even possible. He knew she was an amazing woman…but he was beginning to see that she was far more amazing than he ever would have guessed. "How?" His voice cracking and betraying him. Her nearness was driving him to distraction…especially since he had just been picturing her naked…welcoming him between her legs.

"It happens when my DNA absorbs another's. I usually do it through a kiss. But it can also be done through blood…or sex," she said flushing.

Kolyat's eyes opened wide. He felt his shaft jerk as it grew heavier. He had certainly given her enough of two of those prerequisites.

She led Kolyat to the table and sat down across from him. "From what I can see your future can go in one of two directions. You can return to Kahje, study with the priests…you will eventually marry and have a family. Or you can stay with C-Sec and become a decorated officer…one of the best. You would make a name for your species. Here is where I run into some fuzzy pictures. I see several pictures of you somewhere shiny, but whoever is next to you is fuzzed out. Then I see more pictures of you on the Citadel, again whoever is next to you is fuzzed out. This may be an indication," she stopped trying to collect herself, but unable to stop the tear the rolled down her cheek. "of you possibly meeting your lifemate. So, the choice is yours. Stay with C-Sec, make a name for yourself and possibly meet your lifemate; or return to Kahje, join the priests, marry and have kids. Or perhaps...no...I can't do that to you." She squeezed Kolyat's hands and rose from the table, turned her back to him and gazed at the glowing drive core.

Kolyat was stunned by what she'd told him. He had felt so bad over what he had nearly done to that rotten turian that he was considering returning to Kahje and joining the priests to repent for his behavior. If he went that route he would marry and have kids. But he hadn't wanted to be so far away from her and he hadn't known that he could have that big of an impact on C-Sec…that he could better the name of all drell. A possible lifemate? Well, he couldn't deny that was intriguing…but at the same time it was Shepard he wanted to be with.

Kolyat got up from the table and pulled her back into his arms. "Do what to me, ange?"

"A selfish part of me wanted to ask you to throw it all away and stay with me. But, I could never do that to you. Take you from the paths you were meant to walk. I need to let you go." She said sadly.

He swallowed hard. She wanted him to stay with her? "I briefly considered joining the priests to repent…but I couldn't bear the thought of being so far away from you. Perhaps I should stay with C-Sec. If I can do good…if I can influence how drell are seen…but, to be away from you is more than I can bear. I need you, ange. Like I need to breath. As far as any lifemate goes…that's some time off in the future...or it may never come to pass. Right now, this…you are all I need." He turned her around and looked down into her tear streaked face.

"Kolyat, I have no right to feel anything for you. I had two lifemates. Knowing that you might find yours should make me happy for you, but instead I'm being a selfish bitch, crying over losing something I never had a right to have. We never should have-"

Kolyat crushed her to him; his mouth slanted over hers, his tongue demanded a response. He felt her stiffen and then melt against him. His hand skimmed down her back, over her ass, and hooked behind her knee, he pulled her leg up the side of his and ground himself against her heat. She gasped in shock, balled her fists against his chest, clung to him...needing his touch. Then she backed shakily away, her back coming up against the cold permiglass window.

"I -we can't," she said, darting around him and disappearing through the life support door.

Kolyat groaned and dropped his head against the cool glass. Trying to rein in his need to lose himself in her again. He'd kissed her to shut her up. He hadn't wanted to hear what she had been about to say. He would never regret the time they spent together. Never. And he wouldn't let her either. He couldn't help but smile. She still wanted him. Still loved him. She didn't want to, she fought it, but it still lay there between them. He wondered if he kept pushing if he would lose her forever or if he would spend another blissful moment buried deep inside of her. He spun around and headed out after her. He wasn't going to let her get away. Not again.

When the elevator opened he walked straight into her cabin. She turned, her face wet with tears and her hand flew to her mouth. He moved to her side and pulled her into his arms. He slipped his tongue into her mouth. He gave a tug to the strap of her dress and it unsnapped, pooling at her feet. He felt a cold shill down his back, sighed, but ignored it. She backed away towards the bed; he followed, throwing his clothes off as he pursued her. He kicked his pants aside, picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. He jumped and landed on top of her. She pushed out and merged their auras. He worked his way down her body, loving her with is mouth and tongue. When there was no doubt she was ready for him he crawled back up the body he adored. She wrapped her arms around him and rolled them over so that she was on top. He slowly lowered her down upon him until she was fully seated. When she nodded he showed her just how much he loved her.

Her body began to tighten, she stiffened and they cried out together as their orgasms overtook them. She fell to his chest and held his head, their mouths and tongues danced while their bodies sung with the aftershocks. She lay against him, their heartbeats thundering as he held her tightly.

Kolyat's heart was fit to burst. He had dreamed every night of being in her arms again. He had become lost to the memories of her so many times, but to be back in her arms again was all that he'd ever hoped for...all he ever dared to dream of. She was finally his. Nothing stood in their way anymore. He had no intention of ever letting her go. He slid his hands down her back and withdrew from her. He turned her over on her back and began worshiping her body from head to toe. He felt it when she merged them. His tongue swiped through her folds and flicked her nub. Her hips bucked. He moved up her body and suckled her breast. He ran his tongue to her other nipple and suckled. He licked and nibbled his way down her belly. She groaned and her hips jerked. He spread her lips and revealed her hidden nub. He flicked it with his tongue as he slid his fingers into her hot sheath and rubbed her internal spot. Her hands flew to his head, holding him to her as she keened in ecstasy. He felt her fingers caress his head and he increased the rhythm and pressure. Her body coiled. He pinched himself hard. He wrapped his lips around her nub and suckled, her body stiffened, she screamed and bucked as a massive orgasm ripped through her. He soothed her gently with his tongue.

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at Kolyat. She had lost so much and god help her, she needed him. "I…I love you."

Tears slipped down his cheeks. "Gods, ange...I love you so much it hurts." He moved up her body, slid into her tight heat and loved her thoroughly. "I will always love you, vela."

Come morning he gave her what she needed…what they both needed. When they finally rolled out of bed she put on a purple workout push up bra and a pair of skin tight sweat-wicking shorts, padded a bit at the hip bone and they headed to the mess. They had a leisurely breakfast and talked with their friends for a bit while their food settled.

Kolyat had been stunned when he saw Shepard so scantily clad. He was hard as a rock and could only imagine what being with her on a daily basis would be like. But damned if he didn't intend to find out.

She asked Kolyat if he wanted to borrow one of his Jacob's workout suits. He agreed. She notified Jacob and watched Kolyat make his way to Jacob's quarters.

She hopped the elevator when it came back down and headed to the rec room. She was atop the balance beam when Kolyat walked in. Kolyat stopped and watched in awe as she twisted, turned and flipped on the narrow beam. She nodded to him and did a flip of the end of it. She walked over dabbed her face with a towel, took a swig of water and moved on to the uneven bars. Her time with these bars would come to an end before very much longer. Kolyat just stood there watching as she maneuvered the bars, wrapping around them. When she spread her legs and jumped for the lower bar he damn near swallowed his tongue. No one had the right to look as good as she did.

Kolyat noticed Kasumi had begun sparring with Jacob. He wanted to watch them, but his eyes kept returning to Shepard. When she flipped off the bars she headed over to Kolyat, wiped her brow, took another swig, and pulled him over to the equipment rack. She tossed him some guards and put her own on. Then she held up her hand and beckoned him. He felt himself flush and then stepped out on the mats to meet her.

She held his hands and she showed him how to stretch together. She then began to teach him some of the earlier moves Garrus had taught her. He caught on fast. They began basic rounds; she let her guard down several times on purpose to give him chances to take her down. It was the only way he was going to learn. A few of those times she showed him how she was faking just to draw him in so she could take him down. No matter how many times he hit the mat, he jumped up eager for more. Eventually, she let him toss her to the mats. She snaked her foot through his pulled up and he landed on top of her, the breath knocking out of him.

She opened her eyes in shock. His hardness bit into the heat of her and she groaned. He was looking down at her, his eyes dilated and turbulent. His mouth a few scant inches from hers. She could feel his pulse hammering through him. She was knew he was about to kiss her and she could definitely feel him moving against her core. What they had was too new and she wasn't sure how her crew would take it. She knew she had to distract him. "What's the matter, Kolyat? Not used to being taken down by a mere girl? Care to give it another try?"

Kolyat stopped cold, his mouth a breath away from hers. He shook his head…damn, he wanted her fiercely but he knew she was right. This was not the place. "Cheap trick, ange. But, I know it now, so will be looking out for it." He got up and offered her a hand.

"She has to nail everyone with that move at least once!" Jacob told him. "We've all been taken down by that foot of hers."

She and Kolyat went a few more rounds and then they joined Jacob and Kasumi. Kolyat was surprised how much faster and harder she struck the older man. Watching her and Jacob square off was a sight to see. Both were fast …both were agile though Jacob had a longer reach. When she took Jacob down, she bowed to him and turned to Kolyat. Kasumi and Jacob began to spar again. It was evident there was something brewing between the couple.

She beckoned Kolyat, who was eager to hit the mats with her again. After a few rounds she aimed a scissor kick at his head, he spun her legs, she twisted her body, flung her legs out, pushed against his shoulders and they tumbled to the mats, Kolyat flat on his back with his head between her legs, as she landed on her knees. His face all but touching the heat of her. Kolyat's hands trailed up the back of her legs to her ass and he squeezed it. He closed his eyes, breathing her in.

Jacob cleared his throat. She sat back on his chest. They all laughed nervously.

"Where did you learn that move, ange?" Kolyat asked in a strangled voice. He wanted nothing more than to taste his woman, her scent was a breath away and tantalizing him.

"I didn't…I improvised." She admitted breathlessly.

Jacob reached out a hand and helped her up. "Quit torturing the poor guy…you already took him down, no need to rub his nose in it." Jacob stopped. His mouth dropped. "Sorry, that metaphor just went somewhere horrible."

"You and I have a very different idea of horrible." Kolyat whispered to Jacob as he rose from the mat.

Jacob's mouth dropped open again.

Kolyat burst out laughing and pretty soon they were all laughing. But, the gig was up. She knew scuttlebutt would ensure the whole crew knew about her and Kolyat before the day was through.

Jacob turned to Kolyat, "Let's dance." Kolyat nodded and the two faced off. Jacob worked well with Kolyat. Not too easy…not too hard. He gave him pointers here and there as the match continued. Eventually, he let Kolyat throw him to give him the experience he needed.

Shepard was doing a bit of beam work, talking with Kasumi, while the men sparred. When they finished Kolyat gave her a hand down from the beam and they all made their way to the sofa, plopping down in exhaustion. Kasumi curled up at Jacob's side. It was a peaceful time of camaraderie.

After lunch she took Kolyat to the firing range. In actuality it was just a long, narrow room they'd found on the ship that served no apparent function. It was being used for storage. With EDI's and Legion's help they were able to rearrange the storage areas they already had to make room for the additional crates. Legion then set up all the equipment needed to turn the room into a holographic firing range. Shepard even splurged on the latest artificial guns that shot out holographic ammunition. They had the weight and feel of real guns, but the dynamic cinemagraphic display that enhanced the entire experience. Though real guns could be used with practice clips and had been up until today. Today the shipment of AG arrived and they were all eager to try out the new guns and harnesses, which allowed return fire and the ability to use biotics against the holoenemies. She had purchased 6 of each type of weapon: 3 Carnifex, 3 Phalanx, 3 Eviscerator, 3 Claymore, 3 Locust, 3 Tempest, 3 Mattock, 3 Vindicator, 3 Widow, 3 Incisor and even a heavy weapon, the grenade launcher. She also purchased a longbow just for grins and giggles.

With the room being narrow, no more than six people could use it at any one time. She chose the people she knew would be the most eager to try it out. She, Kolyat, Samara, Miranda, Zaeed and Jacob when David turned her down. Ear plugs were required because she programmed in full auditory, tactile, and visual displays. She chose holo bottles for target practice, much to the surprise of everyone else, and Palaven as a backdrop. Zaeed, Miranda and Kolyat chose mercs and Jacob chose standard bullseye targets. Zaeed, Miranda and Kolyat put on the prerequisite sensors, because they chose to have the holo-mercs return fire. They linked their units to have a broader playing field and worked together as a team. Samara chose the longbow to try something new. She programmed in varen for a target. She became very proficient with the longbow very fast, and she switched the varen out for geth hoppers to raise the difficulty and then added a second arrow. Firing two arrows that actually hit targets at the same time was difficult to all but the best, and she was determined to master the technique. Shepard quickly fell in love with this room. The virtual display was better than reality. The room became such a big hit with everyone that they had to pre-schedule times in advance to use it.

While Kolyat was spending time in the firing range gaining greater efficiency and learning new weapons, Shepard slipped into life support to have a word with Thane. As soon as she walked in she felt the chill around her. "I missed you." A cold swipe on her right cheek and over her heart. "I love you too. I imagine you've heard about the babies?" A cold swipe on her right cheek. Tears fell down her cheeks. Two cold chills over her heart. She put her hands over her face and a chill spread out over her body. She knew he was hugging her. "Thane," she whispered. "One of them is Kolyat's...it should have been yours." Four cold chills against her heart. "I don't understand what you mean by that." A cold swipe on her right cheek and four cold chills over her heart. "I'm sorry, I don't - " A cold chill on her womb, over her heart, on her womb, over her heart. He did that four times. "you love the baby?" Four cold swipes to her right cheek, a cold chill over her womb. "I think I need to buy us an Ouija board." A cold swipe on her right cheek. She thought for a moment. "I got it!" She flipped on her OT and brought up the keyboard. "Can you touch it?" A pause and then a cold swipe on her left cheek and on her right cheek. "Hold on." She ran through the menu to the settings. Normally the holo-keys responded to body heat. Hers was set for human body temp, so temps had to be around her temp or warmer to use it, but other species had different temps. She programmed in for the coolest setting. "Now try."

_ [I Love You]_

Her hand covered her mouth and began to shake. She couldn't stop the tears or the sobs that wracked her body. She felt the cold envelop her and she knew he was hugging her. To be able to talk to him like this was a more than she ever imagined. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so emotional. To talk to you again like this...it's more than I could have ever hoped." Maybe she could talk to Garrus too, if he were still with her.

_ [I wish I could hold you]_

"Me too. I love you so much it hurts. I'm so sorry. Now I know just how bad it was for you when you lost Irikah."

_ [No. She was not my lifemate. With a lifemate it is much worse. That is why lifemates never out live each other. It is unbearable.]_

"I'm so sorry. I should have been there." Four cold swipes on her left cheek. "You can't stop me from feeling this guilt. It is something I go to bed with. It is something I wake up with. I feel it with every breath I take and I always will."

_ [Siha -]_

"What were you trying to tell me before...about the baby?"

_[The baby is mine]_

Four cold swipes on her right cheek, one cold chill over her womb. She sat still, just staring at the screen.

_[Siha...]_

"That's not possible, Thane."

_ [You know I was with you. You saw me. You felt me. You took in my blood. I took in yours. My seed drenched your womb. We were bound as true lifemates.]_

"How?"

_ [Perhaps the fates were righting a wrong. I know not how, but I do know that I was able to take him over so completely for a time that all was filtered out, but the part of him that was me... allowing me to come through completely]_

"But - "

_[It does not matter how many times you were with him after that. I can feel the baby, siha. She is mine]_

"She?"

_[We are having a daughter] _

A baby girl. It somehow made it so much more real. "What would you have her named?"

_[You may name her whatever you wish, siha.]_

"That doesn't answer my question."

_[I had a sister who died as a child, her name was Breena - ]_

"Then Breena it will be. Can you tell the sex of the other baby?"

_[She is a girl too]_

"Thank you. It is good to know. It makes them more real to me. It breaks my heart that..."

_[I know, wife. My heart is torn that I will not be able to be at her side, to hold her and protect her. That I have another child that I have abandoned]_

"You have not abandoned her. Do you regret her conception? Would you rather she be Kolyat's?"

_[Never, she is a part of both of us. I can never regret that]_

"Thane, she will know how much you loved her. How much you wanted to be with her."

_[I am dead, siha. I cannot be a father to her. Let Kolyat have the honor. I think he would make a good father. It is enough that you know]_

"It is not right. Both my babies have lost their fathers."

_[And you have lost both your lifemates. He's here, you know. I've felt him. I'm sure he will let you know when he can.]_

"Thank you for letting me know. Sometimes...No, it is always more than I can bear. I've never felt so alone. This is not the life we were meant to have. If I didn't have these babies..."

_ [You are never alone. I will never leave you... I never have been able to thank you wife for being there for Kolyat; for saving him, for trying to bring understanding and an ease to his pain after he was incarcerated...and while I could wish you had not...'loved' him quite so well, I am nonetheless grateful for the time it gave us together and the daughter that we produced.]_

"I do not wish to hurt him, how do I tell Kolyat about the baby we conceived?"

_[Perhaps as you have just done...he is here]_

She closed her OT and her eyes flew to the door, where Kolyat stood staring at her. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to intrude on your quarters. I only came to visit - " Kolyat gathered her up in his arms, his lips hot against hers, his tongue demanding...His hands slid down her back, he cupped her ass and molded her to him, he groaned into her mouth as his hips rocked against her, his heart thundering in his chest. He pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes. "You have made me the happiest man alive. Let me love you again, ange, I need to bury myself deep inside of you...I need to feel you grip me tight when I make you come. I can smell your desire...I know you want me too. Let me make the heavens shake for you."

A tear slid down her cheek. Oh, Kolyat. It is your father, my lifemate, that I am desiring right now. "I cannot keep doing this to you."

She saw him quake and the anger in his eyes. "Go away!"

Her eyes rose in shock and she tried to back up, but he wouldn't let her go. "I cannot go away unless you release me." She said softly, saddened that she was hurting him again.

Kolyat's wide eyes flew to hers. "Not you, ange. Never you! I felt my father...I think he wanted to possess me."

She tilted her head. A cold swipe on her right cheek. "I'm sorry, Kolyat. I would never ask you to do such a thing. Ever. I love you." She rested her hand against his soft cheek. "I'm sorry. I keep hurting you and I never meant to. I shouldn't - "

His lips fell to hers, his tongue tasted and cajoled. "Quit trying to take back what we have. I will never be sorry for loving you, no matter what happens. I will never forget your love...the way you taste...the way you felt against my tongue. The way you gripped me when I was buried deep inside you. I will never forget the look on your face when you came in my arms, when you cried out - "

"Kolyat - don't hurt him." She said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

He kissed her tear away. A part of him did want to hurt his dad, but he didn't want to hurt her. He placed his hand over her womb. "I heard what you told him. About the child we conceived." He put a finger to her lips when she began to say something. "My child is nestled in your womb, a testament of our love and what we share." Tears fell down his cheeks. He held her tight as she kissed his tears. "If you cannot be my wife at least I can have a part of you in our child."

"Kolyat - " Four cold swipes on her left cheek.

"Please, Shep...don't take her away from me. I need her." He implored her. His naked despair wrenched her heart.

She looked down for a moment. She felt a cold upon her shoulder and she knew he was asking her to be strong. Damn it, Thane. This wasn't fair to anyone. She looked into Kolyat's eyes. "I will name her Breena."

Kolyat smiled. "After my aunt...it is a good name. Thank you. And if it's a boy?"

She gave him a small, sad smile. "I think you know what I would have named it if it were a boy. But she is a girl and she will be Breena."

He slid his lips softly against hers and then looked deeply into her eyes. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, ange... I love you with all my heart and soul, I always have. From the first moment you walked into that room and sent my ass flying and my heart spinning." He looked around the room. "Dad? I'm ready now." He said solemnly.

She put her hand over her mouth as tears fell down her face. She moved her hand so that he could see her mouth, "I love you." He nodded and gave her a sad smile and a double blink. She closed her eyes.

"Siha."

She opened her eyes to see her husband standing before her. She looked around, a part of her expecting to hear Unchained Melodies playing in the background. Stupid old earth movies. She raised her hand to touch his soft cheek. "Oh god." She gasped. He was shorter than his son, so she knew it really was him. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. He could be asleep. I don't feel him. I did not expect he would ever do this for us." He admitted, running his fingers through her hair. He held her close, their bodies swaying to a song that wasn't playing. Thane did not know if they would ever have a time like this again and he was thankful that Kolyat had allowed them to have it. He held her face between his palms, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. He slid them gently against hers, savoring the feel of her lips against his. Her lips parted as she gasped. He ran his tongue along her upper lip. She moaned and took control, turning the kiss fiery, full of need, longing and aggression. That's my girl...

She pulled back and looked at him. "We can do slow and easy later, right now...I need you too much to wait. I - "

His lips came down hard on hers, demanding and desperate for more, unable to get enough. She broke apart briefly. "EDI loop Unchained Melodies, the 1990's version, might be the Righteous Brothers." That song said more about what she felt that any other.

"Will do...let me bug out before you fry my circuits."

Shepard shook her head, chuckled, and latched onto his mouth with renewed vigor. The sound of the music poured through her. Their clothes fell to the floor as their hands frantically explored each other. She slid her hand down his silky scales and over his hard shaft. "I knew you'd be beautiful hard. Do you remember me kissing you here?"

He groaned, his hips bucking into her palm. "Gods, yes. I would have given anything to feel your kisses, your touch." As she fell to her knees her other hand slid slowly down his chest, his abdominal muscles quivering as her fingers slid over them. Her touch felt so good he nearly screamed. He felt her emotions and her desire when she merged them and he all but came unglued. One hand grasped him firmly while the other trailed down the front of his thigh to his knee and then up the back of his thigh to his ass. She kneaded and caressed his ass while she blew hot breath against the head of his shaft. He felt her moan vibrate through him as she felt the muscles of his ass clench and his hips jerked against her. Her tongue slid across his slit, her teeth giving a gentle, playful nip and then he felt himself slowly slide into her hot, velvet mouth. He ran his fingers through her hair as her mouth loved him and her hand played over his ass. He knew she loved the feel of his muscles, because he felt her moan every time he flexed. He found himself flexing a lot, just to feel the added vibrations. When she added suction the pleasure was so intense he about jumped out of his skin. He bucked into her, but was careful not to hold her head tight, he didn't wish to hurt her. Between her hands and her tongue and her heat and her suction, he grew heavy, his ridges filled, his balls tightened. "Siha...oh gods..." He felt her pull back a bit, she increased the tempo of her hand. Her other hand slid around and gently grasped his balls, rolled them, caressed the delicate skin behind them as she increased the tongue flicks and suction on the head of his shaft. His head flung back and he cried out with the force of his climax. His head flattened, his hips continued to rock against her, her suction driving him on as he spent himself against her flicking tongue. He smelled her desire, her pheromones and heard her gasp when she came.

He dropped to his knees in front of her, and held her tight while their hearts thundered. He felt her bite and shivered; he was driven to answer her bite with one of his own. She cried out as he suckled the wound, drawing more of her blood into his mouth. He heard he whisper, "Don't stop!" She gripped him tightly and cried out as she came again. She released their connection, they continued to cling to each other.

She felt a deep, rich cadence vibrate through her. She shivered as pleasure danced across her nerve endings. "God...do that again."

Thane chuckled, inflated his throat and released a new tonal wave.

"Promise me you will do that when you're inside of me." She implored as she shivered in response. She smelled his pheromones and his desire and she felt herself swell. "You better hurry or I'm going to come without you."

Thane grasped the back of her head and brought her in for a kiss, while his other hand trailed down her belly and through her silky curls. He barely touched her and her body stiffened as an orgasm tore through her. He pulled back and lifted an eyeridge at her.

"I told you I would come without you."

"That you did, though I had not realized you were quite so...ready."

He pulled the blankets from Kolyat's cot and laid them on the floor. He gave her a hot look. He could smell her and was shaking with the need to taste his woman. "My turn, siha." He laid her down and settled between her legs. He groaned as he rubbed his shaft against her heat, coating him with her scent. He was still too enlarged to enter her, and wouldn't if he could have. His need to taste her was far greater. He gave her a scorching kiss before descending to her breasts. Her nipple tightened as his hot breath fanned it. He rolled it gently between his teeth, flicked it with his tongue, and blew air on it. She groaned and grasped his head. He chuckled and drew the taut bud into his his hot mouth, suckling it and flicking it with his tongue. She ground against him needing more. He drew his tongue from the tip of one breast to the tip of the other. She keened her frustration until he drew the puckered tip into his mouth. "You're going to kill me," she moaned.

"Never, wife...I'm going to love you." He kissed, nibbled and tasted every inch of her body until she cried out his name in ecstasy, her body shaking with the force of her release. He groaned as he tasted her nectar and poured out his love for her in his touch, in the deep, rich cadence that flowed from him in melodic harmony.

The deep tones he emitted curled around her and resonated through her, setting her nerve endings a tingle and her blood on fire. "How come I could not hear those beautiful sounds before?"

He moved slowly back up her body, memorizing the feel of her against him. "No human can register the deeper communication tones that drell are capable of. That you can hear them at all give testament to your growing strength and the fact that you are not human. My love for you is so deep that my words alone can not convey the entirety of my feelings. It gladdens my heart that you can finally hear the depth of my love for you." He looked deeply into her eyes and rocked himself against her heat, coating himself once more with her essence. He felt her legs wrap around him and cradle him. "I love you, wife." He gasped as he slowly slid into her tight, hot sheath. He gritted his teeth, she was so tight he cried out with pleasure as he felt her quiver and stretch around him. When he was fully embedded he gave her a moment to adjust. He felt it when she merged them into one, feelings and sensations blending.

Tears of bliss fell from her eyes as she felt him deep inside of her. Her muscles clung to him, not wanting to let him go. "I love you, husband." She said as she moved against him. She stretched anew and clung tightly to his every movement, intensifying the pleasure they shared. She felt the warmth of his tears as they fell against her cheeks. His tongue traced the shell of her ear, his hot breath tickled her as he nuzzled her lobe. She shivered and clutched him tighter.

"Oh gods," he groaned, feeling her breasts slide against his chest with each thrust. He felt her tongue and teeth against the bond mark she'd given him and his hips bucked as he ground against her. His hands fell to her hips to hold her tightly as he rocked into her harder and faster. He felt her nails bite into his back and her legs grip him tighter. He felt her body tense and he gritted his teeth against the need to come. "Come for me, siha." He lowered his head to nip the bond mark. She shivered and her muscles gripped him tighter. He looked down into her face and watched her shatter with the force of her orgasm. He spiraled over the edge, crying out as he emptied himself into her womb, his shaft locking them tight. He fell against her and bit into her shoulder, renewing their bond. Her answering bite rocked his soul.

They clung to each other, riding out the aftershocks. Knowing their time together was fleeting. The room had grown dark, but they were beyond caring. Everything they felt was focused on each other. When his shaft finally released them, he began to move within her again. He knew he was weakening, he'd spent a lot of energy to be with her this long, but he wasn't ready to give it up. He knew this was all the time they had and he couldn't let go. This time he took it slow. He loved her with his mouth, his tongue, giving voice to it with tender words and deep cadence all the while moving within her, building up the need to release gradually until it became a roar in their blood. He heard her cry out and felt her muscle grip him and he was lost. He gave a hoarse shout as he released himself within her. He felt a cold chill as the rift opened and he was yanked from his wife. "Siha!"

Gods. He was coming so hard, he thought he would die from the pleasure. As dreams went, it did not get any better. As he emptied the last of himself in the woman he loved, he was overcome by her scent. The need to taste her again drove him on. He withdrew from her and lowered his mouth to her heat. His tongue slid through her damp folds and flicked the swollen nub. She cried out and bucked against him. She would always welcome him in his dreams. He slipped his fingers into her sheath as his mouth teased, nibbled, and suckled her. He was so heavy and tight he nearly came with her. He plunged back into her hot core and cried out as he felt her aftershocks squeeze him tight. He poured out his love for her in a deep tones he wished she could hear. He slammed into her harder, faster; he heard her call out his name as he yelled with the force of his climax. He continued to thrust into her until he was wrung dry. He fell against her and only then realized how still she had become.

The fog began to clear and he looked down into her shocked eyes. He could see her clearly, but he knew she couldn't see him. She ran her hands along his head, his face, his mouth and they stilled and fell to her sides. That was when he realized that this wasn't a dream, that he really was buried deep inside the woman that he loved. Regardless of how he got there, there was no place else he ever wanted to be. He held her tight.

She was in shock. She knew something was off, but she had been in the aftershocks of the orgasm Thane had given her. By the time she figured out, what had happened, heard tones similar to Thane's...but not his, it was too late. Kolyat was already coming inside of her. She clung to him. Grateful for what he had given her, but sad that her lifemate was gone.

Her tears tore at his heart. He didn't want her sad over what had happened. It meant the world to him and he would never regret it. "He was pulled out of me, I thought I was still dreaming. I love you, ange." The last words fell softly from his lips. He felt the gentle touch of her hand against his cheek. He held it to him, needing her touch. He held her quietly and didn't push her for more.

She was thankful he allowed her the time she needed to come to grips with everything. "Please know that I could never thank you enough for the generosity that you showed us; for the time that you gave us. I will never have another moment with him." She said, fresh tears falling down her cheeks.

"Ange, I am willing - " He knew she loved him. But he also knew she loved his father, her lifemate. He would do anything for her...even accept his father's...possession.

She put a finger to his lips to still them. "No, Kolyat, if what I suspect is correct, you have a lifemate coming. You will love her completely and never want to be unfaithful. Nor would she understand if you did decide to be so generous again. And that is as it should be." She placed a soft kiss against his lips. "I love you, Kolyat. I will never forget what you did for me."

He loosened his hold on her. His hand skimmed over her breast, trailed down her belly, brushed the top of her curls, and settled over her womb. "I love you, ange. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. It is a moot point, this possible lifemate is not here yet and may never be here, so please stop talking about it." He paused for a moment and caressed her womb. "But, we are here. Our child is here. I want to stay here. With you...with her, our child. Both the children. I want us to be a family. I want to raise them. I need to, ange. I don't want to abandon my own child. My children. I don't want to be anything like my father. Marry me, ange. Be my wife."

His sweet words tore at her heart. She sat up. "Lights on."

Kolyat watched her lithe body as she searched for her clothing. His eyes drank in every inch of her.

When she was clothed, she turned around to face him. His blue body sprawled gloriously naked on top of the blankets, his red shaft engorged. She closed her eyes.

"I cannot help what you make me feel. I am not ashamed of it. I will always want you." He stood and walked over to her. He gathered her in his arms and then tilted her chin up. "Always." He placed his lips reverently upon hers, molded her against him and then released her.

She walked up to Thane's chamber. Placed her hands against the permiglass and rested her head between them. She turned and kissed the glass and took a step back. Kolyat's arms went around her.

"He wouldn't have left you like that if he'd had a choice."

She rested against him briefly. "I know."

He turned her to face him and lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Marry me, ange. Don't walk away from me. Don't make me abandon you and our children. You love me, I know you do."

"It doesn't matter that I love you. You have paths you were meant to walk..."

Anger bit into him. "Fuck the paths! Futures are in constant motion, you know that. I don't give a good godsdamn what _might_ happen, you don't even know for sure. You were guessing. You would keep us apart, keep me from my children over a...guess...what _might_ or might not ever happen?" He growled in frustration, a blue glow lit up around him. "I know what _can_ happen. _We_ can happen. Let _us_ happen." He could feel her hesitation.

Deep cords of despair and need wrapped around her. She could feel what she meant to him. What the children meant to him. His unspoken cadence vibrated through her. When she saw the glow, her eyes popped open. "I did not know you were a biotic."

He just looked at her. "Does it really matter?"

"No, I'm sorry. It just caught me by surprise."

"I would share you with my father, ange. You know I would."

Her eyes shot to his face. "No, Kolyat! You would come to hate me. I couldn't bear it. I've lost too much."

He grasped her arms and shook her gently. "Quit telling me what I should feel, what I should think, what I should do. I will be the master of my own destiny. I will choose the path I walk and who I walk it with. It is my life. And life is far too precious and fleeting to not share it with the ones you love. You of all people know that to be true. I know you love your lifemates, ange. I would never take that away from you. But I can be there for you and comfort you when you need it. I'm not letting you go, ange. I'm not letting my children go. I'm not going to let love and life just pass me by. I will fight for you, ange. I will never give up on you. On us."

"Kolyat - " He placed a finger gently over her lips.

Is there anyone alive you love as much as you love me?"

She shook her head.

"Is there anyone alive that can make you as happy as I can?"

She shook her head.

"Is there anyone else alive that you want to make love to?"

She shook her head.

"Is - " She placed a finger over her lips.

"Will you let me talk now? What I was trying to tell you before is...yes, if you're sure it's really what you want. I will marry you."

Kolyat's mouth dropped open and then slammed shut. He never thought she'd really agree to be his wife. He closed his eyes as the depth of his feelings washed over him. He crushed her to him. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. You will never regret it, ange. Never."

"Why do you call me angel in French?"

"Mon bel ange...you have always been my beautiful angel...and I happen to think French is the most beautiful human language. Does it bother you?"

"Of course not, Kol. I think it's endearing." She gave him a tender kiss and then looked up into his eyes. She saw his double blink and her heart melted. "Why don't you gather up your things and take them to my...our cabin. I'll meet you there shortly." She looked down at his beautiful blue chest. "Though I suggest put some clothes on first." She swatted his ass and darted for the door.

Shepard slipped over to the forward batteries with a steaming cup of sweet coffee. She sat down in the chair and stared at her lifemate. She felt a chill and shivered. "Garrus, are you here with me?" The cold intensified. "Can your touch be more precise?" She felt cold envelop her hand. She smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Can you touch me on the right side for yes and the left side for no?" Cold swipe to her right cheek. She closed her eyes. "Thank you." She felt a cold chill over her heart. "Did you put your hand on my heart?" A cold swipe on her right cheek. "Does that mean, I love you?" A cold swipe on her right cheek. "I love you too, husband."

"I talk with Thane, but I need to know if it is the same with you. Do you have to be in this room to talk to me?" A cold swipe on her left cheek. "Do you have to remain on the ship?" A cold swipe to her left cheek. "Are you anchored to your body?" A pause and then a cold swipe to her left cheek. "When I take your...you home...will you still be able to be near me?" A cold swipe to her right cheek. A deep breath of relief escaped her mouth. "I feared I would lose you when I took you to Palaven." Four could swipes to her left cheek. "I guess that means, not a chance in hell?" Four cold swipes to her right cheek.

"How am I supposed to live without you?" Her head fell, harsh sobs wracked her body. Cold enveloped her. "It hurts so much. You were more than my lover...my lifemate. I lost my best friend too...I'm sorry, I have no right to complain to you. You have lost far more than I have. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Forgive me." Cold settled around her neck. She looked up at his face, wishing his blue eyes would open. "Are you throttling me?" Four cold swipes against her right cheek. A cold chill over her heart. She laughed through her tears. "I miss you, Garrus. I miss you so damn much." Four cold swipes against her right cheek. A cold chill over her heart. "Don't ever leave me...I couldn't bear it." Four cold swipes over her left cheek. A cold chill over her heart. Two cold chills over her womb.

"What do you mean by that? Something about the babies?" Cold swipe to her right cheek.

"Hold on...I've found an easier way to communicate with Thane and I hope it works for you. Are you willing to try?" Four cold swipes to her right cheek.

"Ok...ok." She chuckled. She flipped on her OT and brought up the keyboard. "Try to touch it."

_ [I Love You. I wish I could touch you]_

"Me too. I love you so much it hurts. I'm so sorry. I know you lost far more than I did."

_ [No. There is nothing worse than losing a lifemate. It is unbearable for us both]_

"I'm so sorry. I should have saved you." Four cold swipes on her left cheek. "You can't stop me from feeling this guilt. I failed you and I will never forgive myself."

_ [Vela -]_

"What were you trying to tell me before...about the baby?"

_[Why are you giving her gene therapy? She is born of our love, vela and should have both of us in her]_

"Our species are very different, husband. I worry that too much blending might be more harmful to her developmentally. A turian with partially human feet might have a difficult time walking or running. Maybe greater blending would have been beneficial...but the gamble was not worth the risk to me."

_[Yes, I see your point. Though, I'm glad she is not all turian. I see you in her and it love it. I love that she is a part of both of us. It is fitting]_

"Thank you. It breaks my heart that..."

_[I know, vela. I should be there...to hold her...protect her. It hurts that I have abandoned her]_

"You have not abandoned her. Do you regret her conception?"

_[I could never regret our child]_

"Garrus, I will tell her all about you, every day of her life. She will know how much you loved her. How much you wanted to be with her."

_[I know you will, vela. I just wish...]_

She nodded her agreement. "I wish it too with all my heart. I'm so glad we can talk like this. I mean, it's not the same as...as - I miss looking into your eyes...touching you...holding you."

_[I know, vela. It is...torture. I can see you, but I can't touch you...At least I got the chance to feel you when I...]_

"When you merged with Kolyat?" She asked softly.

_[Yes. Though I prefer to think of it as 'step into' rather than merge. Does it bother you?]_

"Never. I felt you too...I need that, Garrus. Right or wrong, I need that connection to you. Do you talk to Thane?"

_[No, though I imagine we will become well acquainted, since both of us are bound to you]_

"There is something I need to tell you. Thane doesn't know yet, because Kalahira pulled him away from me, but I have agreed to marry Kolyat."

_[I'm glad I do not have his gods. No one can pull me away from you. But, vela...why are you marrying Kolyat?]_

"It's not the life I would have chosen, husband, you know it's not. I've lost both my lifemates. Besides these precious babies, he's all I have left. I love him. Not in the way I love you or Thane, but his love helps keep me sane. He and these babies are the only things keeping me from joining you, where I belong. They need me to keep them safe...without them, I wouldn't care if the galaxy went to hell, because all I really want to do is join my lifemates. Right or wrong, I need something to keep me going through this hell that has become my life." She couldn't stop the tears from flowing, so she gave up trying to wipe them away.

_[I'm not judging you, vela. I can't be there for our children. I'm glad they will at least know the love of a father. No child should be without a father's arms to hold them and keep them safe. And while I do not like you in another man's arms, without him I would not get the chance to feel you again. It is the only way I can hold you and make love to you. When I step into him I feel what he feels and I need to feel you.]_

"I miss you Garrus. I miss you fighting at my side. I miss your sense of humor. I miss our evenings. I miss your eyes. I miss your touch. And damn me...I miss that incredible tongue of yours." She said smiling through the tears.

_[Spirits, vela. What you do to me. You should know I'll be joining you tonight. Oh - and give the boy your blood. It will strengthen him.]_

"Then, my love...I will feel you tonight." She stood up and closed her OT. A cold chill over her heart. "I love you too." She walked up to his chamber, kissed the permiglass and departed the forward batteries.

The week it took to get to Palaven was an enjoyable break, despite the sad circumstances. The crew took to Kolyat and the news that they were a couple better than expected. Perhaps they felt their commander had suffered enough. Joker would invite Kolyat to the bridge, teaching him different things about flying the Normandy. He also spent time down in engineering with Gabby and Ken learning about the Normandy's propulsion systems. It was also nice to be able to spend time with David. Overall David was enjoying his stay, spending time with Miranda and Jacob, of all people, as well as Samara and Zaeed.

Every other day she hit the med-lab with Kolyat to have the dextro embryo cared for and to have the babies monitored. She was 7 weeks along. Arms, legs, eyes and head could be easily seen on the embryos. He held her hand, cajoled and distracted her during the painful portion of the visits. He laughed with her as they watched their children wave their arms and kick their little legs. He held her close as they left the med-bay and headed to the mess.

Shepard had been Kolyat's saving grace. She saved his life, kept him out of prison, gave him peace, she gave him her love, her innocence, a future, and was going to bear his child...or children. He was so full of happy, he just couldn't contain it. He grabbed Shepard's hand, pulled her into his arms, spun her out, back into his arms, ran his hand down her back, over her ass and hooked it behind her knee, pulling it up the side of his leg and dipped her down, kissing her in front of everyone.

The cheers, hoots and hand claps were nearly deafening. They made their way to the table. Everyone knew about the babies now. David gave her a big hug. She teased him again about being a grandfather, but he loved every minute of it. Kolyat seated her and went to get their food. He returned with a platter stacked high. Booze flowed freely, though Shepard limited herself to a single glass of wine.

As the evening moved on, they moved the party into the rec room, some of the group split off to play cards, the rest gathered at the sofas to watch vids and talk among themselves. Eventually, she and Kolyat excused themselves. They made their goodnights and took the elevator up to their cabin. Kolyat was surprised when Shepard told him she wanted him to bite her and take in her blood. He didn't even consider her shoulders, he knew how much the bondmarks meant to her. But, he had discovered one place she enjoyed a playful bite and he decided that would be the perfect spot for his mark. He loved her with his mouth and tongue. When she came for him - though he was not her lifemate, he pledged himself to her and bit her upper, inner thigh. She cried out and held his head to her, told him not to stop. He suckled the bite wound until she stiffened and came again. Kolyat smiled and dipped his tongue into her nectar before sliding up her body and sinking into her heat, her blood hot in his veins.

When their heartbeats slowed, the aftershocks subsided, she left them connected long enough for babies and daddies to feel each other. Kolyat lay next to her in bed, they were content to just hold each other. She had felt both Thane and Garrus within Kolyat and a small part of her wondered if it was crowded in there.

Kolyat woke her up every morning with a kiss or a touch, taking in her blood and making love to her before they dressed in their workout gear and headed down to the mess. They would sit around and talk with the crew, giving breakfast some time to settle before hitting the mats. Kolyat caught on quick to everything he was shown. He wanted to be able to protect the woman he loved and it drove him to push himself harder and faster. He trained with everyone he could, learning their different styles and combining them into a work of art. Shepard was the most difficult for him to spar with. He loved sparring with her, she was a great teacher, but it was hard to keep focused when his brains fell into his pants and his hands used every excuse to touch her. Especially since she'd started giving him a daily shot glass full of her blood, on top of what he already consumed when they made love. Her blood filled him with strength, need and drive.

After their shower Kolyat headed down to the firing range and she asked EDI to have David meet her at her cabin. When the door chimed she pulled him into a hug, grabbed his hand and led him over to the sofa. She sat down next to him, and held his hand.

"David, I wanted you to be the first to know. Kol and I are going to be getting married." David's mouth dropped open and she squeezed his hand. "I need this, dad. He loves me and our children. I love him. It's not the same..." She closed her eyes and took a breath, trying to staunch the pain. "But he and the babies are about the only thing keeping me sane...keeping me from joining my lifemates...where I belong. Please say you understand."

The tears in his daughter's eyes broke his heart. "Don't say that. I couldn't bear to lose you. I need you in my life, child. If you are sure this is what you want or what you need, than you have my support. You will always have my support."

"You are a member of the Council. Can you wed us?"

"If you wish me to preside, I will. When did you want to get married?"

"Now."

David's eyes shot open. "Now? You don't want a big wedding?" He chuckled to himself. "No, I guess that really isn't you." I'll comm you in a couple of hours when I've got everything set up." He stood up, pulled her in for a hug and left the cabin with a determined stride. He made a bee-line straight to Miranda.

Shepard sorted through her belly rings and grabbed a few of the ones she had that were made of precious metals. She made her way down to the armory. "Jacob, I need your help." She held up a small piece of ribbon and dumped the belly rings in his hand. He cocked an eyebrow, confusion written all over his face. "I'm getting married to Kol in a couple of hours, I need a ring made. Can you do it?"

Jacob could not have been more shocked. "Absolutely, Shepard. I'll let you know when it's done." Shepard nodded to him and left. Jacob smiled and commed Kolyat. He realized he goofed when he discovered Kolyat didn't even know. He begged Kolyat to act surprised and was relieved when he agreed. They spoke a bit longer before disconnecting.

"EDI, I need you to do a few things for me. And I need them done rather quickly. I want the aquarium tank removed as well as the model ships. I want shelving placed in the glass enclosures and I want the closet enlarged. I need another table and terminal brought in. I need a dehumidifier installed in the bathroom. I also need you to scan Kolyat and I want a full wardrobe of clothing for him as soon as possible.

"Understood, Shepard."

"Thank you EDI."

Kolyat went straight to the med-bay.

Karin was surprised to see him walk through the door. "Is everything okay, Kolyat?"

"Yes...she's fine and so am I. I'm actually here for another reason. I'm a biotic and I want to upgrade my amp. I want the L5n. Do you know how soon you can get one in?"

"Your in luck, I actually have one. It's part of the crap I pulled out of Shepard after Cerberus put her back together." She pointed to a table. "Take a seat."

Kolyat hopped up on the table while she retrieved the amp. Chakwas scanned him, located his implant port and swapped out the micro-amps. She gave him a warm smile. "I hope it helps you to keep up with our girl."

Kolyat returned her smile. "That is my hope as well. Thank you doctor." When he entered the cabin, Shepard was watching the eel chase the fish around the tank.

She smiled at Kolyat when he walked in and opened her arms. He walked into them. "Do you still want to marry me, Kol?"

He stared at her incredulously. "Do I still want to breathe? Do I still want the heart to beat in my chest?" He held her hand against his thundering heart. "I have always wanted you to be my wife."

"David is making the arrangements. We can be wed today, unless that is too soon for you."

He spun her around and held her tight. "It is not soon enough."

When she received a comm, she moved away from Kolyat to take it. Jacob's voice alerted her that it was ready and he would take it where it needed to go." With her back turned she didn't see Kolyat's smile.

David notified her that he had what he needed and that he would be there in 20 to get her. Kolyat brushed a tender kiss against her lips and told her he would be back soon. She watched him leave. Her fingers were icy with nerves. She hoped he would never come to regret marrying her.

She tore through her closet. Kol's aura was emerald green and shot through with pale orange wisps. She pulled out a sparkling dark green dress. The skirt hung low, hugged her curves, flared at the knees and fell to the floor. The top consisted of a single long band of material that looped around her neck, crossed over her breasts and snapped to the skirt at each of her hips. She put on a gold belly ring with three dangling gold drops, the middle drop nearly touched the skirt, matching gold earrings and necklace. The necklace had six dangling gold drops, three at the front and three at the back. The middle drops hung down the lowest. She swept the back of her hair up with gold and emerald combs, so that the necklace could be seen against her bare back. She slipped on gold heels and rotated in the mirror to make sure there was nothing out of place.

She closed her eyes and shivered as she felt her lifemates' cold caresses slide over her. She fought to hold back her tears. She would not do that to Kolyat on their wedding day. The door chimed and she took in a deep, steadying breath.

David nearly choked when the door slid open and he saw the daughter of his heart. "You are stunning, child." He hugged her and laced her arm through his.

"Even though we are not having an actual wedding, I wanted to look good for Kol." It was the least she could do for him.

"You will steal his breath away." David said patting her hand.

They rode the elevator down and he pulled her to a stop as they exited. Kelly smiled at her, placed a bouquet in her hands and backed away. The door to the observation lounge slid open. She looked down at the bouquet and then through the door.

Samara and Kasumi stood at the front on the left side, Jacob and Legion stood at the front on the right side. Kolyat stood in the middle, unable to take his eyes off her. The rest of the crew sat on the sofa benches on either side. The stars, in the huge windows behind them, shimmered and winked. She was stunned. It looked like a real, old-fashioned earth wedding.

David smiled and squeezed her hand. "I talked with Miranda, told her I wanted to give you a real wedding. She helped with all of this." It was all so sweet…so perfect. A blinding smile lit her face, the room grew still and David froze.

Bag pipe music started blaring from the comm. She looked up as Miranda shot off the sofa bench and ran over to Ken. He turned red, nodded and put in the correct melody. She burst out laughing. A Scottish dirge at her wedding. Thanks Ken. Won't forget that.

David held out his arm and led her slowly down the aisle. Kelly followed, pillow in hand. When they reached Kolyat, David hugged her tight, hugged Kolyat, and then placed her hand into his. He bowed and made his way to the front of the couple.

David did his best with the unfamiliar words. They spoke the traditional vows, minus the _obey_...neither one was good with that concept and then spoke a few words from the heart. When it came time for the rings, Kelly stepped up with the rings displayed on the pillow. When the rings were taken, Kelly made her way back to her seat, tears in her eyes.

Both of their eyes opened in shock. Neither knew the other had gotten a ring. She slipped the ring on his far left finger and pledged herself to him. He slipped his ring over the third finger of her left hand and pledged himself to her.

You may now kiss the bride. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a steamy kiss no one would forget. They turned around for their wedding picture.

A huge cake was brought in and the couple cut off a slice for each other. Shepard gave a wicked smile and after Kolyat took a bite of it, she smashed it all over his mouth and laughed. His eyes shot open and narrowed. He took her slice of cake and smashed it against her lips. A big dallop of frosting dropped into her cleavage and she yelped. He dipped his tongue down between her breasts and scooped it up.

Everyone hooted and clapped.

As they were scanned and signed the license, She signed Shepard-Vakarian-Krios in honor of her lifemates and her husband. Kolyat looked down at her signature and nodded. He shocked her. He then signed the name Kolyat Shepard-Vakarian-Krios.

The sofa benches were moved to the sides of the room and dance music was put on. Kolyat and Shepard moved out on the dance floor to have the first dance, as was custom.

Her next dance went to David. Shepard moved on to Ken and spun him onto the dance floor. "Ken, I'm about to bitch slap you. You are about as blind and slow as a slug." She admonished.

"Commander Shepard," he began.

"Ken…life is too short to play games. You talk and joke about women and their bodies in front of a woman who is madly in love with you. Your eyes are wide shut to the best thing you have in your life. So, get your head out of your ass before it is too late."

Kens eyes opened wide…his mouth opened and closed like a fish. His eyes darted to Gabby, who was looking in their direction. "She likes me?" He asked in wonder.

"One bitch slap coming up." Said Shepard, raising her hand.

Ken held his arms up in surrender. "Life is too short…I'm thinkin' I need to woo a lady…thank you for settin' me straight Commander." He said and headed off in Gabriella's direction.

She made sure she danced with everyone. Her staff...her crew meant everything to her. She even manged to pull the mother of heart onto the dance floor.

"We've been through a lot together, my child, but I never thought I'd be dancing with you." Chakwas said with a laugh.

Shepard felt familiar eyes on her; she scanned the room and saw her husband watching her while he was talking with Jacob. She blew him a kiss and went over to Legion who was standing off by itself scanning the proceedings.

She pulled Legion onto the dance floor. It just stood there. She placed each of its hands at her waist and put her hands on its shoulders and forced it to move.

"Shepard Commander…why do organics move in this fashion? It is inefficient and serves no purpose." it asked raising its eye plates.

Shepard laughed. "We dance because it allows us to both blow off energy and feel alive." She said, twirling Legion awkwardly around the dance floor, while receiving more than few strange looks. "If I could make you feel alive…I would."

"That is…illogical."

"Perhaps so," she said leading it back to the corner it had chosen, "But I'm a hopelessly romantic human…Thank you Legion…for the dance. I enjoyed myself."

It flapped its face plates. "Acknowledged," it said.

She turned around and her husband's arms embraced her. "I'm through sharing my wife. I want you all to myself." He said with a wry smile as he pulled her onto the dance floor. He molded her body to his and placed a fiery kiss on her lips. She leaned against him as they swayed to the music.

Platters of food were brought in and booze flowed freely. At one point during the evening someone had broken one of the glasses. Kolyat was cleaning up the mess and sliced his thumb on a shard of glass. He absently brought it to his mouth, so that the blood wouldn't make a mess. Shepard grabbed his hand and looked at the wound. She knew she could use medigel, but she wanted to share a part of herself with him. She wrapped her hand around his thumb and merged their auras. She smiled up at him as she felt her hand heat up. A small discoloration moved across her fingers and settled against her thumb. She disconnected them and released his thumb.

He looked at her in shock. His eyes went to the pink, puckered scar on her thumb.

"I wanted to share a part of myself with you. It is a small part of what makes me different from others. It is time you got to know all of me. I will explain my other differences tonight."

He did not like that she had hurt herself for him. And while he worried what more would be revealed to him, he was determined to learn it all.

The party lasted well into the evening. When she was fit to drop, she and Kol excused themselves. He carried her across the threshold of their cabin and spent the night making love to his new bride. He felt his father and Garrus join him, but he was beyond caring. He had everything he ever wanted.

The next morning came all too soon. Before he would let her out of bed, he was determined to learn everything he could about her. She laid back against him and proceded to tell him about the unique abilities she had. Her inability to die, resets, anchor-points, her drain power, her ability to heal herself by siphoning, her incredibly fast healing, her ability to transfer wounds to herself...and finally, she explained that this was all probably due in to the fact that she was not actually human.

He actually took it all much better than she expected. He asked well thought out questions when he needed to and accepted her answers at face value.

Kolyat was stunned by all that she told him. That she trusted him enough to share her deepest secrets, told him more about how she felt about him than anything else could have. He made slow love to her before they headed down to the mess for breakfast.

EDI had informed her that both Wrex and Liara were heading to Palaven. She had to admit she was a bit concerned about Wrex. She had to hope he would behave himself. That he was part of the _hero_ team that took down Seran, went a long way in his favor, but she was pretty sure she'd need to use her Spectre status to keep him out of too much trouble. Hopefully, it would not make things worse between her and Garrus' father.

Come mid-afternoon they had finally reached their destination. "ETA to Palaven 67 standard minutes. Sure you're up for this, Commander? I can turn her around if you have cold feet." Joker said over the ship-wide comm.

"Thanks Joker…I feel the love."

"Hey…Just doing my job. Not every day you get to join into a family whose patriarch is sworn to hate all Spectres. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes. Just saying, Commander."

"We'll see who has the last laugh, Joker. You'll be disembarking with us if I have to haul you out kicking and screaming by your beard. You'll be there to see every bit of the _fun_."

"I can't leave my baby; I'm all she's got."

"Your baby has EDI, who will take the best of care of her." Shepard pointed out.

"Of course I will. You have nothing to worry about, Jeff." EDI assured him.

"You're no fun, Commander." Joker said solemnly.

"If she were any more fun...she'd kill me." Kolyat whispered.

"I heard that." Joker snickered.

"I need to get ready." Shepard said and made her goodbyes. Her husband was quick to follow. By the time she'd made it to the cabin she was fraught with nerves. She began pacing, nearly jumping out of her skin in panic. She was not usually one to give into panic…but this was big. Real big.

"It's going to be ok, ange." He pulled off his clothes and shivered as twin chills went down his spine. He shook it off and began to stalk his wife.

She straddled Kolyat and cradled him inside of her, savoring the aftershocks. Due to the merge she knew Garrus and Thane were with them. She was glad they were there, she needed them too. Kolyat leaned forward and suckled her breast. She moaned and rubbed the contours of his head. He lavished attention to her other breast and she groaned, grinding herself down on him. She pulled his head up, nipped his lower lip and dove her tongue into his mouth. He slid his hands up her rib cage to her breasts. He rubbed his thumbs across her nipples and rolled them when they hardened. He trailed one of his hands down her belly, through her tight curls, and danced his fingers over her hidden, swollen nub. He cried out as her pleasure washed over him. He grabbed her hips and moved her against him as their tongues dueled. When they felt her body begin to tighten he stopped. She groaned as she came close to release and they stopped. When her body relaxed he began to work her up again. When she tightened he stopped.

Her eyes popped open. "Is this payback?"

Kolyat chuckled. "No. But it is torture. A torture that I am suffering with you since you have kept us connected. Every time you are close to coming so am I. But I think you need this, ange. Perhaps in the end you will thank me. I just have to survive my own torture." He admitted.

He worked her close and stopped so many times she was fit to scream, her body shaking uncontrollably. Kolyat was shaking just as hard, if not harder. He felt a wave of heat burn through him. He grabbed her hips raised her and slammed her hard down upon him. He guided her movements with one hand and worked her swollen nub as he moved between suckling her breasts and her tongue. He was so swollen, so heavy he gasped and cried out with slightest movement against him…and he was moving her hard and fast. He knew this was going to be time they would ever forget. He felt her body stiffen and he nearly cried out in relief. Waiting for her to come first had become painful.

She screamed as a powerful orgasm arched through her body. Her internal muscles grabbed him as tight as any fist could. He felt a strange tingle around the head of his shaft. His bellows joined her screams as he exploded within her. His shaft locked tight, but he continued to come as wave after wave of the orgasm swept over him. He looked down into her eyes stunned at what had happened. She was just as shocked. She could feel the ribs of his shaft vibrating deep inside of her, prolonging her aftershocks and the waves of heat that poured off of him. His eyes were glassy.

Her OT blinked. This wasn't exactly the time. She felt four cold chills over her heart. She opened her OT.

_[Bind with him, siha.]_

= He is not my lifemate.

_[No, but you have become his.]_

= That's not possible.

_[He has been saturated with your blood. His love for you was never in question. His soul believes you are his lifemate. Bind with him or we will lose him]_

She closed her OT as she felt her husband slip back into Kolyat. She closed her eyes, pledged herself to him and bit deep into his right shoulder, taking in his blood. He shuddered and held her tight.

They tumbled bonelessly onto the bed when they were released. She was too relaxed, too tired to even remotely care what Garrus' father would think of her. Damn his hide…that was just what she needed. "You were right, Kolyat. That was needed more than I knew. That was an insane orgasm…and if I was any more relaxed I'd be in a puddle."

He moved closer to her and wrapped her in his arms. She kissed away the tears on his cheeks. He ran his fingers through her wet hair and kissed her forehead. "I've never felt anything as intense or beautiful as that. I will treasure the memory forever...You are my lifemate." He said in wonder; never would he question what he had been given. He shivered as dual chills ran down his spine when the men departed. He slid down her body, ran his tongue over his bondmark and bit down, renewing the bond.

When they rolled out of bed this time, she was calm, cool and collected again. She hit the bidet to refresh herself and they hopped into the shower for a quick wash down. Sex didn't even enter their minds…as they soaped each other up. Perhaps that wasn't exactly true…sex entered their minds, they were just too relaxed to act on it…and perhaps a lack of time played a small part in that decision. A quick dry later and she was storming through her closet.

She poured herself into blue leather pants and snapped up the matching blue with white trim leather vest. It had a plunging neckline and was cut up to reveal her sapphire bejeweled navel. She wore silver and sapphire dangle earrings and a simple silver chain looped through itself with a sapphire dangling like a pendulum over her cleavage. She slung a matching mag-belt low on her hips. She twisted back and forth in front of the mirror trying to see if anything could be improved.

"You look stunning," Kolyat said pulling her into his arms.

Kolyat too wanted to show solidarity. He wore a blue dress suit with light grey trim. He pulled on one of his lightly armored leather suits, which was also blue with black trim.

He looked around the room in surprise. The aquarium was gone, the closet larger. A table, terminal and soft padded chair were along the wall in the space the tank once occupied. The model ships were gone, in their place were shelves filled with various guns, including the Predator pistol she'd snatched from his so long ago.

Shepard smiled at him. "This is our cabin, Kol. You needed a spot of your own." She moved over to the gun shelves. "I wasn't sure which guns you preferred, whichever don't suit you we'll put back down in the armory. I had a dehumidifier installed in the bathroom. I didn't want to risk - "

He picked her up and whirled her around, his lips parted hers in a heated kiss. "You are the most giving, thoughtful woman I have ever met." He released her and opened the gun cabinet. He snapped on a incisor, a locust, and a phalanx.

Shepard stepped into her own metallic blue-purple armor. She snapped on her viper, mattock, and phalanx. "Stop by the armory and pick up a helmet." Kolyat nodded, pulled her in for a kiss and told her he'd meet up with her shortly.

"Standing by for docking protocol. Shuttles are ready and awaiting our arrival." Joker alerted them.

"As soon as we are docked, I expect you suited up and at the airlock."

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard could all but see the faces Joker was making at her right now.

"Shepard, Wrex and Liara have arrived and are awaiting docking as well." EDI informed her.

"Thank you EDI."

"Are you with me, Garrus?" A cold swipe over her right cheek. "Then let's take you home, my love." A cold chill over her heart.

She made her way down to the forward batteries. She moved to stand in front of her lover. She ran her hands down the front of the chamber. She didn't notice the dim green light that activated. "I've brought you home just as I promised, my love. I will miss coming down here to talk with you. I will miss seeing your face. This is not how I wanted to come to Palaven. I had wanted us to get married here. I never thought I would be here for this. Never this." She stood on the tips of her toes, pressed herself against the permiglass front, hugged it tightly to her and placed a kiss upon it. She dropped her forehead against glass. She could feel him surrounding her and her soul cried out. "It's not fair, Garrus. We were supposed to grow old together, raise our children together. You promised you'd never leave my side again. You promised to always be there for me. You promised, Garrus. You are my best friend, my lover, my lifemate. My soul weeps for you." She sobbed quietly, unable to stem the flow of tears. "I miss you my love. When my time comes you better be there. You better be at that bar, or so help me I will hunt you down and make you wish you hadn't broken your promises to me." Another sob escaped her lips. "Sleep well, my love. I will join you when I can." Two cold chills over her heart.

She stepped back and activated the chamber. The green light went out; a blue one took its place. The chamber floated a few feet off the ground. She placed a hand on it and turned around. Her tear streaked face met Kolyat's. She stepped away from the chamber and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry; you weren't supposed to hear that. I just needed to say goodbye." She kissed the tears on his cheeks.

He hugged her tightly and their mouths met in a tender kiss. When she regained control of herself, she nodded to him. They stood on either side of the chamber and placed a hand on it. Garrus between them in death as he was not given the chance to be in life. They made their way down to the airlock.

She looked around at her friends who were sending her sad lingering looks. She gathered her strength and stood taller. "Those of you without full helmets take your happy asses to the armory and trade them out. The radiation here is too strong for anything less." She watched half her friends work their way towards the armory. "The rest of you start moving out. We will surely need to go through a security checkpoint before we can board the shuttles. I'm a Spectre, you're with me. Remind them of that if they balk at your side arms. I've already left instructions for your clearance, there shouldn't be a problem. Legion you have special clearance." She repeated her instructions for the rest of her friends as they returned from the armory.

She smiled at Kolyat. Kolyat froze and just stared at her. He shook his head to clear it and they departed the Normandy.

A trio of turians stepped up to greet her as she stepped out of the airlock. They pointedly ignored the chamber. They introduced themselves and offered their hands as per human custom. This shocked and intrigued her. If this had been an old earth movie, she was sure they would have rolled out the red carpet. They told her that she was a VIP, a dignitary and ambassador for the human race, a Spectre for the Council; she was to be awarded top preferential treatment. Including a ride on the palatial shuttle to the Vakarian manor house. Perhaps it was just a way to keep an eye on her, but she appreciated the gesture anyway.

Kolyat greeted with a 'Sere Krios' and a hand shake. He was the dignitary and ambassador of the drell while he was here.

She heard Wrex's booming voice and looked over to see him and Liara heading their way. Several turians following in his wake trying to get him to stop and submit to scanning. It was hilarious but also dangerous. She headed Wrex off.

"Shepard! My good friend! I thought you were dead. Seems even the void can't hold you!" He pumped her hand enthusiastically, nearly ripping her arm from its socket. Then he looked at her intently. "I'm sorry about the pup. He was a good man, for a turian. I liked him. It doesn't much surprise me that you were lifemates."

"Wrex, I'd like you to meet Kolyat Krios, the son of my other lifemate, Thane Krios. He is also my husband."

Wrex raised his browridges, shook his head and chuckled. He moved her aside eyeballed the drell, taking the measure of his stoic and cool demeanor. Wrex could feel a confidence and strength emanating from the drell. Then the name hit him. Krios. Damn if he didn't know that name. Wrex whipped his hand out and pumped Kolyat's enthusiastically. "Thane Krios…your father made quite the name for himself. If he were alive I'd make him an honorary krogan! Of course, if he was alive, you probably wouldn't be...marrying his lifemate and all...damn, you've got a quad, son." He said slapping him on the back. Kolyat, being quick and agile, didn't stumble or blink an eye. "Shepard! Would have loved to have seen the look in the pup's eyes when he discovered he would have to share you."

"So would I Wrex," Shepard said wistfully. He was always giving Garrus a hard time, trying to push his buttons; apparently even death would not stop him.

Wrex looked at her quickly. "Sorry about that. Now point out the turians I can eat. Or don't. That could be more fun."

Shepard shook her head. "Not a one Wrex. I told them you'd be on your best behavior…"

"Why'd you go and say a thing like that?" Wrex grumbled.

"That's the only reason they allowed me to invite you. While you are here you are a dignitary and ambassador of your people. As such you will be given the respect of that rank. _And_ they are holding me personally responsible for you."

"Can't believe I'm standing on the homeworld of one of the most hated enemies of my people and I can't kill anyone. You sure know how to kick a man in the quad, Shepard." Wrex growled.

Shepard gave him a dazzling smile. "Thank you Wrex," she said pulling him in for a hug. "I've missed you like mad." She admitted giving his jutting lower lip a kiss. He swung her around like old times and congratulated them on their new family.

Kolyat smiled. Wrex was huge and aggressive and one of _the three _that brought down Seran. But he melted just like everyone else when Shepard smiled at him.

She turned to Liara and gave her a big hug and peck on the lips. She promised they would get together as soon as possible. Shepard asked Liara and Samara who wanted to be the ambassador for the asari during their stay. Since neither wanted the title the role fell to Samara, as a matriarch and justicar she was already a representative of her people.

Mordin the ambassador for the salarians and Legion was the ambassador for the geth.

Shepard and Kolyat took Garrus' chamber and followed the turians into the shuttle. Mordin, Wrex, Legion, and Samara followed.

The shuttle was massive and beautiful but very utilitarian. It rode like a dream. Joker was missing out. As they left the hangar she stared out the windows taking in the sights. The buildings had a metallic sheen that sparkled in the late afternoon sun. It looked like a city of silver...or mirrors. It was breathtaking. She could make out the fortification walls that surrounded the port city and the soldiers that looked like ants patrolling them. The waterways that wound their way through the cities were beautiful. She could see little people like water bugs wading in the steaming water. It must have felt like a hot bath. The higher elevations were sure to have cooler rivers, but the radiation would prevent outsiders from enjoying it. Their shuttle followed one of the waterways into another city. The Vakarian manor house sat on a slight rise overlooking much of the city below. It wasn't huge, but after living so long in the confines of a spaceship it looked massive.

Their shuttle may have been the last to take off, but as dignitaries they were the first to land. "This is it," she told them. "Helmets on. Check your seals." She and Kolyat, escorting Garrus' chamber were the first off the shuttle, which felt really wrong to her. She was always the last. His parents, sister, staff and guards were waiting for them.

Introductions were made, handshakes and nods given. Everything cool and regimental. When the last of the dignitaries were greeted, his family bade them follow and returned to their home. Mrs. Vakarian moved in an odd, stiff gate, her husband's arm around her. The staff and guards would greet the rest of the guests and show them to their quarters.

Once inside, Solana showed the rest of the dignitaries to their quarters, her parents made their way to a large sitting room and directed them to put Garrus' chamber in the front. When it was settled, Shepard leaned down and placed another kiss on the glass exterior. "Your home, my love. Just as I promised you."

They nodded and led her and Kolyat to the master bedroom and bid them to enter.

She thanked his parents. Mrs. Vakarian nodded and told them someone would come and get them when dinner was ready.

When the door closed behind his parents Shepard said, "I hadn't expected this to be a turian custom as well. I feel kind of guilty stealing their bedroom." She admitted. "Hope his father doesn't add that to his list of reasons to hate me."

She looked around the pristine and utilitarian room wondering where she should put her armor. She walked over to a wall and slapped a button, hoping it would not set off an alarm or something equally embarrassing. A closet door slid open, it was empty. They removed their armor and stored it in the closet.

She opened up her arms and he walked into them. He could feel how nervous she was becoming. He began to lead her in a common dance on Kahje. Eventually, they slowed and their bodies swayed to music only they could hear. His lips found hers, his hands skimmed down her back, molding her to him. He felt her hands caress the muscles of his ass. Gods, he loved her touch. He rocked into her, the friction of her belly against his hard length made him shudder with need.

His deep cadence wrapped around her, vibrating her nerve endings.

The chime of a comm interrupted them. "It is I, Solana, can I come in?"

They groaned and then sighed.

"Of course you can," Shepard said.

Kolyat spun her around and kept her firmly in front of him, hiding his very evident arousal, as Solana entered the room with a young male turian in tow.

Solana came forward with her hand out and an eager smile despite the sadness in her eyes. Shepard smiled back. This was one Vakarian she would have no problem liking. Solana stopped, hand out and just stared. Kolyat chuckled. "You'll get used to it, Solana. Well…maybe not, I'm still trying to."

"What are you talking about, Kolyat?" Shepard asked as she stepped forward and shook Solana's outstretched hand. She felt the warmth and kindness through her touch. She felt an odd pull towards the woman, but something told her to let it go...and for once in her life she did. "Solana, I feel a connection with you. I think we are going to be great friends."

Solana was enthralled. This powerful warrior woman…this legend wanted to be friends with her. Said they were connected. It was beyond anything she could have imagined happening. She'd come because she had to meet her. She couldn't wait until after dinner. The way she talked, the way she moved…it was so vivid…so sensual…so addictive. Yes, that was the word. Shepard was addictive. Her gaze fell on the blue drell that stood behind Shepard. She felt a strange pull, but shook it off. It was bad enough she was fawning all over the woman, she didn't need to fawn over her husband as well. That wasn't the best way to stay friends with Shepard.

"Pardon my manners." She turned to the young man beside her. "This is Rojik, he's the son of my father's best friend. I think our father's hope we'll wed someday." She gave the turian a fond look. "Perhaps we will. He was eager to meet you too."

Shepard shook the young man's hand. They made a sweet couple. She got a warm vibe from them. She placed a hand against each of their cheek plates and closed her eyes. She felt a gentle peace and love. Best friends. "You are perfect for each other." A golden blue glow flared around her, the turians clasped hands as the power thrummed through them. When it faded, she opened her eyes, dropped her hands and backed away. Kolyat's arms came around her and she relaxed back into him.

The turians looked at each other, then at Shepard. "What just happened?" Solana asked.

Shepard looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Solana's mouth dropped open and slammed shut. "You glowed all golden, we felt...we felt...your power flow into us."

Shepard saw Rojik's nod and looked up at her husband.

"She's right, ange. What did happen?"

Shepard chewed on her lower lip in confusion. "I'm sorry...I don't know. Was it...bad?"

Solana flushed. She was very glad her plating covered it. "No...not at all. It was very...nice. You told us we were perfect for each other."

Shepard cocked her head. There was something...something she needed to remember. It was as elusive as a wisp of smoke. She looked at the young couple. "I don't know why I said that, but it must be so. Sometimes...I feel things. I need you to do something for me. I need you to kiss."

The turians looked at each other and then at her. "What is kiss?" Rojik asked curiously.

Right. She had forgotten turians don't kiss and this pair was young enough that they had probably never left Palaven. "_A_ kiss, she corrected. I'll show you what I mean." She spun around in her husbands arms and looked up at him. "Don't move, let me lead." She whispered to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned them sideways so the couple could see them clearly. She ran her tongue along his upper lip. She dipped it into his mouth, touched the tip of his tongue and withdrew. She slipped her tongue in again, flicking it against his, encouraging him to meet her half way. Their tongues met in a sensual dance until Kolyat could take it no more. He fused their mouths and kissed her breathless. When they remembered themselves, they flushed and backed away. Kolyat grabbed her hips and positioned her in front of him for modesty's sake.

Rojik was moving awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. Perhaps their kiss had been a bit hotter than intended. She could not keep the smile from her face. Rojik froze in mid-shuffle. She walked up to the couple. She noticed their far hands were still clasped. She took their free hands and placed them together. She sandwiched their hands between hers. "Kiss." her glow flared again. "Please trust me in this. Your brother was my lifemate. You will not regret it."

She backed off as she saw the couple move closer to each other. Solana took the lead and mirrored every move she had seen Shepard make. Kolyat grabbed her hand and pulled her into his embrace. His hand went to her face and he tilted it up to claim her lips. Four cold swipes against her left cheek. Another four cold swipes against her left cheek. Kolyat raised his hand to his cheek; he had apparently felt it too.

"You felt him too?"

"I don't know what I felt."

"It is how I talk to them when I'm not using my OT. Cold on the right side for yes, cold on the left for no."

"Um...ange, I think we need to put the brakes on things or we will all be very embarrassed." Kolyat spun her around so she could see the turians groping each other heatedly.

"Well, that would explain what he was trying to tell me. You take the boy and I'll take the girl."

Shepard grabbed hold of Solana's arm and dragged her from the room. Her eyes didn't leave Rojik until the door closed.

"I need to be with her." Rojik said, pulling against Kolyat's grasp.

"I know, Rojik. I know exactly what you're feeling and what you're going through. If we were anywhere else, I wouldn't care. But, our host is her father. He needs to be told before you bond. To bond with his daughter without telling him would be rude."

When Solana had her wits together they reentered the room.

Kolyat looked at Shepard and smiled.

Shepared kept firm hold on Solana. "I need you to take us to your parents. As you are well aware, this is important and can't wait." She nodded to Kolyat to keep firm hold on the young man.

Solana nodded and led them further into the manor house.

"I'm so happy for you, Solana." She said flashing her big smile.

Solana swallowed hard. Not even having a lifemate spared her from the effects of Shepard's smile. But it made a weird kind of sense since even her husband wasn't immune. She wished she could have seen what that smile did to her brother. Her big, tough brother melting into a puddle would have been priceless.

Rojik shook his head. He was a little nervous about the meeting to come…but nothing was going to keep him from his lifemate. He had to be near her…had to protect her…the need to claim her was clawing at him…he was hard, aching and his ability to think straight long gone.

When they reached the sitting room, Shepard closed her eyes and forced her sight. She needed to get a read on the situation. Her dad's aura was blue with strokes of orange and red. Practical, calm, but aggressive. Her mom was…she stopped cold…dying. Her head was completely black and the black was bleeding down into her lavender aura. She quickly released the sight. Shepard handed Solana to Kolyat and pulled Rojik behind her. Kolyat drew Solana protectively behind his back, while still keeping a firm hold on her.

"What the hell is all of this about, Solana?" His father demanded. "You know protocol and this is not it."

"This is too important for protocol, dad."

"Nothing is too important for protocol. And why are you behind his back?" He asked coldly.

"I'm protecting her from you." Kolyat said.

"That's ridiculous." His father said losing patience.

"Rip the band-aid," Shepard said under her breath.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, get it over with quick rather than drawing it out. Solana has found her lifemate." She said.

The silence that greeted her was deafening.

"Just because Garrus was your lifemate, doesn't mean Solana has one too."

"It is because Garrus was my lifemate that she has found hers."

"Who is he?" His mother asked in confusion. She saw a flustered Rojik and smiled with hope.

"I suggest you get someone here to marry her and Rojik right away if you want anything official. I don't think a damn thing will keep them from bonding tonight…we will be lucky to get through dinner without a scene." Shepard warned. A feeling slammed into Shepard. She sent out her sight and saw the young couple's auras turn black. She shivered with dread. "When they are wed, they will return with us and join C-Sec. They cannot stay here. If they do they will die."

Solana's father stood up. "I think you have gone too far - This needs to stop now." Anger lit up his eyes. "You!" He said pointing at Shepard. "You have brought this all down upon us. You have _ruined_ this family!"

Rojik stepped forward. "You will _not_ talk to her that way, sir." He pulled Shepard behind him and stood tall facing off with the older turian. Kolyat and Solana also moved in front of Shepard. Taking a stand against the patriarch.

"I think we've heard enough from you, father." Solana said. "You will apologize to her, dad."

"Now." Kolyat said coldly.

A chill went down the older man's spine. He wasn't comfortable that the young drell put it there.

Shepard moved them all aside and made her way up to her new father. "You obviously don't think much of me, but for Garrus' sake I intend to change that. No one has control over who the fates have chosen for them; nothing is more precious or more treasured than a lifemate." She gave him a big smile, took his hand and stripped the glove from it. She placed his talons over her bare belly and rested her hand upon his. She sent soothing and calming thoughts to him through her touch. "Garrus will always be my lifemate just as Thane will. We have spent several lifetimes together. We have had children together, all three of us. I am carrying twins now, one of which is Garrus'. Both of which he would love as his own…That he is not here to watch them grow is a travesty. The fates are not always kind. But you are still my family even if you don't want to be. This is our future. Your grandchildren are resting below your palm. Things may not have worked out the way you'd hoped for your son or for your daughter, but aren't these grandchildren worth getting to know? Can you not accept them into your heart and love these babies as only a grandparent could?"

Shepard needed him to feel them as she did. She needed him to be invested, connected. She pushed out and merged their auras. After the slight disorientation she felt his anger and bitterness, but she also felt his sadness, his loss of control, his love for his family…a love he rarely allowed himself to show.

"Touch me. Touch my skin," she told everyone in the room. Kolyat was the closest to Solana's mom, so he helped her up and led her over to Shepard. He placed her talons next to her husband's. When she felt all of their hands she began to glow gold and blue as she forced the merge of all of their auras. The massive amounts of emotion nearly took her to the ground. She locked her knees until she could pull them into some semblance of order; she made another push and merged with her babies. They didn't have feelings yet, but they had presence. A strong presence. She glowed brighter still as she lay everything bare for everyone. The love and desire she and Kolyat shared, the immense pain she was suffering from the loss of her lifemates, the overwhelming need of two newly discovered lifemates, the quiet fortitude of a woman forced into her husband's shadow, the love of a father who couldn't show it, the presence and life-force of two precious new souls awakening to the feelings surrounding them. Finally, she shared herself, she let go of the love and strength and conviction that she held for everything. She raised her head and closed her eyes. Her arms held low and away from her. She sparkled so bright she was nearly blinding, her feet no longer touched the floor. The power she was unleashing so intense everyone touching her began to rise with her. Then her head fell forward her glow faded and she collapsed slowly, all but floating to the floor.

Rojik and Solana came to their senses faster, _the heat_ in their blood burning out the emotional daze. Rojik reached out and pulled Shepard into his arms as she fell. He cradled her to him, tears falling down his cheek plates. She had shared something more intimate, more powerful, more sensual, then anything he'd ever experienced. Solana came to his side and brushed the hair back from Shepard's face. She brought her forehead to Shepard's in love. Shepard glowed faintly and began to draw from them. As she siphoned her glow intensified and so did the pleasure it gave. Rojik grew hard again. Not because he wanted Shepard and not because of the need to bind…it was just a reflex of the siphoning and the pleasure derived from it… Just as Solana could not help that her tiny muscles began to clench. Shepard's glow faded. She held these two amazing people close to her heart and sent soothing thoughts and love to them through her touch. With their minds momentarily cleared… their hearts pure, they loved her back.

Rojik lowered Shepard to her feet and released her. He and Solana watched her walk into her husband's arms. They put their arms around each other and just held each other quietly. Solana noticed her parents were doing the same. The emotions had just been too intense to not hold someone you care about.

After a few minutes Mr. Vakarian stood up, he flipped on his omni-tool, talked privately for a moment, then disconnected. He walked over to the young couple. He held his hand out to Rojik. He'd always hoped the young man would end up with his daughter. He was proud that he'd tried to protect Shepard. He knew he would protect his daughter…a lifemate… even more aggressively. "You will be married after dinner. I will have a special license brought to the manor. After that the evening is yours. Welcome to the family, son."

Vakarian turned to face the rest of his new family. He caught Shepard's blinding smile and it nearly took him to his knees. He wondered briefly if anyone could survive this woman. He wasn't sure just what he felt as he made his way over to the couple. She had given him so much…shown him so much that he was humbled and in awe. Normally, neither of those would sit very well with him. But he wasn't feeling very normal right now. His step and heart were lighter than they'd ever been and he wondered if she hadn't changed him on some fundamental level.

He stopped in front of the human and peered down at her. Kolyat stood taller, ready to defend her. He looked him in the eyes and shook his head. Then he looked back down at the human. "I was wrong about you. I was wrong about a lot of things." Vakarian ignored his daughter's shocked expression. "I think you were just what my son needed. I'm sorry that," He cleared his throat. "Sorry that he was taken so soon." He looked around uncomfortably for a moment and then back into her eyes. "We heard what you said to Garrus. It was recorded on the stasis chamber. I would like to play it at the services, if you will let me."

Shepard flushed with embarrassment. That had been a private moment. But if his father wanted it then she would give him that piece of herself. "Of course, Mr. Vakarian."

Torlin looked at Kolyat and nodded an acknowledgment. He placed his talons on her belly. "I look forward to seeing my grandchildren." A look of wonder filled his craggy features. "I felt them. I felt the babies' strength. It was…hmmm…amazing." He dropped his hand and cleared his throat.

Shepard closed her eyes. Pain momentarily overwhelmed her. Her throat tightened as she fought to stave off the tears. She missed the feel of Garrus' talons against her skin. She would never feel them again. That truth was crippling. "Garrus...," she whispered. She felt his coldness surround her, but it was not enough. It never would be.

Kolyat saw her waver and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry you're hurting, ange. I wish there was more I could do."

"Just be there." She said, clinging to him.

"Always." He whispered in her ear. "Always."

Torlin returned to his wife's side and helped her up. "Let's adjourn to the dining hall." Apparently dinner had been delayed so long because there were four dinners served. The lower ranks ate first soldiers, staff, and then her friends. Then the ambassadors ate…finally it was their turn…the family.

There was a literal feast of drell, human and turian delicacies. Being the curious sort and a bottomless pit, Shepard ate some of each. The turians were at first concerned when they noticed her eating their food. She assured them turian food would not affect her and they sat in awe as they watched her eat and eat. They couldn't quite fathom where she put it all. They knew biotics ate more in general…and she was pregnant, but it was still a sight to see. Shepard was rather impressed with the turian and drell cuisine and knew she'd have to pick up supplies and add more items to their shipboard menus. She also made a note to pick up some quarian food for Tali so she didn't have to triple filter everything she ate. And while she was at it she'd grab some asari and salarian food. This mission was dangerous and the least she could do was give them a few amazing meals. The cook won't know what hit him.

When dinner was finished they adjourned to a sitting room with the other ambassadors. Cards, vids, booze and conversations flowed. She smiled at Wrex and kissed his jutting lip in thanks for his good behavior. The turians were stunned both that she would do that and that he would allow it. But they came to understand with Shepard anything can and should be expected. And they were surprisingly more okay with it than they thought they would be. Solana, her father and Rojik were showing Kolyat a turian game similar in nature to earth billiards. This gave Shepard the opportunity to sit down next to Mrs. Vakarian. "Mrs. Vakarian, will you trust me? I'd like to help you."

Juslie patted her hand. "Call me Julsie or better yet call me mom. You're my daughter. Of course I trust you …though I'm not sure how you could help me."

Shepard gave her a soft smile. "Will you trust me enough to let me hold you? I know most turians don't show a whole lot of affection in public, but I can ease your headache if you let me hold you."

"We females tend to be a bit more expressive than the men." Julsie said patting her hand. "I wasn't aware you could tell I have a headache. I thought I was doing well hiding it."

"You are. I…um…see things a little better than most people. I doubt anyone else is aware." Shepard assured her. "Please let me do this for you…mom."

The older woman smiled and nodded, Shepard lifted her arm and the older woman lay against her. Shepard wrapped her arm around her shoulders and placed a hand on her head. She placed her other hand next to the first and cradled the woman to her bosom. She pushed out and merged their auras. She pictured what she wanted to happen. She no longer had to wish it or think about it, she just had to picture it. Ugly, black death spots began to crawl up her aura, they made their way up her arm and disappeared out of sight. She knew exactly where they were going. She sent relaxing thoughts through her touch.

Julsie felt the soothing heat of the hands upon her head. The human, her daughter, was soft and comfortable to lay against. She was so happy that her son found this wonderful, loving, giving woman, if only for a little while. And she was heart broke that they would not be able to spend their lives together. Originally, she had been appalled about the two lifemates, she knew how much pain the three of them would have gone through. To know the woman had lost both her lifemates. That is a hell no one should live. But she liked Shepard on sight. Felt drawn to her. When she had brought them all together and laid everything bare, she opened her heart to the woman. Shepard had walked into their lives and done more for their family than anyone had ever done. She had lost a son and was going to lose her daughter to a lifemate, but she gained something precious as well.

Rojik smiled and pointed out the pair to Kolyat. His smile fell when he saw the dawning look of horror on the drell's face.

"Solana, tell me your mom is not hurt. Please tell me she's not." What Shepard was doing looked an awful lot like what she did when she stole his wound.

Solana gave him a sad look. "She's sick. She has Corpalis Syndrome. It's a degenerative neurological disease. There is no cure."

Shepard felt the eyes of her husband upon her. She glanced up and saw Kolyat heading their way. She smiled and put up a gold and blue barrier bubble around them. Kolyat stopped cold, his hands against the bubble. "Don't do this, ange. Think of the babies." He pleaded.

She gave him another soft smile. "I am thinking of the babies, husband." She poured stronger relaxing thoughts into her mother, who essentially fell asleep against her side. She did not want her new mother aware of the growing tension.

Everyone joined them at the bubble curious as to what was going on.

"Kolyat why are our wives embraced on the divan?" Torlin asked and touched a talon to the golden, shimmering barrier. "And why is there a barrier up?"

Kolyat's eyes shot to his wife. This was not some small wound she was taking on. It was a disease that ended with death. "Ange, why?"

"I cannot leave her to suffer. And I cannot leave him alone." She looked down at her new mother and scanned her aura. Lavender laced with white. She watched the last of the black leech into her aura and travel up her arms. She knew exactly where it was going.

"What is happening, Kolyat?" Torlin asked concerned.

"Shepard is healing her." He admitted in defeat.

"That's not possible. There is no cure." Torlin stated resolutely.

"She's not curing her. She's absorbing the illness from your wife's body and giving it to herself. Shepard has Corpalis Syndrome now." Kolyat said in a strangled voice.

Shepard lay the older woman back on the sofa and stood, her legs wobbly. She took a shaky step and fell to her knees. She smiled at Kolyat and used the table and sofa to leverage herself back onto her feet. She shuffled painfully over to the edge of the bubble and stood before him. She placed her hands against his, only the bubble separating them. "Alert Chakwas and Mordin."

Tears fell from her husband's eyes. He didn't care who saw them. "You didn't have to do this, ange. You shouldn't have risked yourself…the babies."

"I didn't risk the babies. They are fine." She tried to assure him.

"What happens to the babies when you die?" Kolyat asked her.

Everyone's eyes shot to him in shock. Die?

"Nothing. The doctors won't let it go that far. The babies are strong. I feel it. They wanted me to help her." She said as her body wavered. She poured more energy into the illness. Her body lurched. "Do not watch me husband. Kolyat…please…look away. This is not a memory you need to have."

Kolyat shook his head. "You should have thought of that before you …you- ange, I love you." He said trying to grip her hand through the bubble.

She stumbled and fell to the ground, her hands sliding down the bubble. Kolyat slid down with her to keep contact.

Her body spasmed and convulsed. She fell away from the bubble and hit her head against the table as her body heaved and bucked.

Kolyat beat at the bubble separating him from his lifemate…his heart broke to watch her suffer and die. Solana dropped to her knees beside Kolyat, her talons gripping the bubble. She watched in horror as Shepard's body arched and twisted upon itself.

"She'll be fine...I think." Kolyat said in a choked voice. "It's just hard to see."

"How can anybody be _fine_ after this?" Solana felt tears slip down her cheeks.

"She's Shepard…she has to be." Kolyat said quietly.

Rojik wrapped his arms around Solana and held her as her hands shook against the barrier.

Shepard's body arched up, bowed tight and relaxed. The barrier bubble winked out. Kolyat shot to her side, his C-Sec training kicked in. He moved her away from the table and started depressing her chest. Tears coursed down his cheeks, landed upon hers and rolled towards the floor. He gave her his breath and resumed the compressions. Within a few standard minutes Chakwas and Mordin burst through the door. Mordin scanned the babies as Chackwas depressed a huge syringe straight into Shepard's heart. Chakwas lined up the laser points on her chest. "Clear!"

Julsie was groggily waking up and her husband went to her side.

"Vela, quit doing this to yourself. I know you are helping my mother, but the cost you are paying is too high. She wouldn't want it."

"I had to help her, Garrus."

Thane crowded in next to her. "Not like this, siha."

"What do you think it does to us to watch you die like this? We can't even be there to comfort you. What do you think it does to Kolyat?" He asked shooting a glance to the young drell's tormented face. "You can't help everyone, vela. No one expects you to."

"I'm sorry, Garrus...I had to." She pulled his head down for a kiss. Then she pulled Thane down. She missed them so much, her souls ached with their loss. "I love you...Don't leave me."

"Never..." they said, holding her tight until, like smoke, she slipped through their fingers once more.

Shepard gasped and choked. Chakwas sat back in relief. She hadn't wanted to shock Shepard's heart. She had been worried about the babies.

"Babies fine. Strong signs. Death not good, Shepard. Stop dying. Stressful to body." Mordin admonished her.

Mordin and Chakwas moved their attention to the Julsie. They gave her every scan they could think of and a few that didn't cross their minds…as necessary, that is. They told him they needed to do some blood work, but as far as the scans showed Juslie was free of disease. Torlin Vakarian thanked them and assured them he would get her to their doctor for the blood work.

Mordin and Chakwas looked at each other and shook their heads. "This event must never be known. Not by anyone. Tell your doctors that you are taking her to another clinic for experimental treatment. As time goes on you can tell whomever you like that she is responding well and in remission. Until then, continue to support her when she walks in public. The price Shepard would pay for her love and generosity is too high." Chakwas informed him.

"Of course," Torlin said, nodding his understanding. He held his wife and looked over in concern at the woman who gave so much to his family…to him. He owed her a great debt he could never repay.

Mordin held up a syringe seeking permission to withdraw some samples. Julsie nodded her consent. He smiled and bobbed his head in time to the patter songs playing in his head. When he had the samples he needed, he thanked them and left, deep in conversation with Chakwas. They didn't have the Normandy's labs, but they never went anywhere without their kits…and they did have EDI.

"What happened, Torlin?" Julsie asked. "Last thing I remember was Shepard taking my headache away."

Torlin smiled down at his wife…his now healthy wife. "Shepard did take your headache away, Jewels. She took your disease away too. She is fine now, but she died for us Jewels… I can never repay the debt I owe her." He said

Julsie's eyes opened wide and her mandibles dropped. "How is that possible, Torlin? She doesn't look dead. And diseases don't just disappear…you can't just take one away like it's a suitcase."

Torlin shrugged. "It's Shepard. She's a Spectre, she can break any rule she wants."

"So she saved me?" Julsie asked in awe.

"That's what she does," Kolyat said solemnly.

Kolyat pulled off his shirt and handed it to Solana who held it in front of Shepard as he awkwardly removed her vest. Kolyat pulled her up against his chest, his shirt and arm covering her breasts. Rojik and Solana laid hands on her, her golden glow brightened as she siphoned from them.

As her glow dimmed, her eyelashes fluttered open. Kolyat spun her around and crushed her to his chest. Rojik and Solana put their arms around the pair and they all held each other, trying to come to grips with watching her die.

When they had themselves under control again, Solana held up Kolyat's shirt in front of Shepard while she and Kolyat put her top back on. Kolyat pulled on his shirt. Rojik and Solana helped them up. They all walked over to the seated couple to check on Julsie.

Julsie jumped up and pulled Shepard into a tight hug. She placed her forehead against Shepard's and squeezed her hands. "I can never thank you for what you've done for me. What you went through for me. I never would have let you…you know that, right?"

"I know…Garrus said..." She looked down and took a deep breath to steady herself. "That's why I didn't tell you what I was doing." She said with a smile. Julsie sucked in her breath and nodded.

When his wife stepped aside, Torlin looked down at Shepard, held out his hand and then sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he wrapped his arms around her awkwardly and gave her a hug. "I will never forget what you have done for this family…for me. I owe you a debt I can never repay."

"No, dad, you don't. There are no debts within family." She reminded him and hugged him back.

Torlin's mandibles flared wide. He clamped them tight when he noticed his daughter watching. He cleared his throat, released the human and stood back stiffly.

Julsie and Solana looked at each other in surprise and smiled.

A comm notified them that a government official had arrived. He walked briskly into the room, he handed the special license to Torlin, who looked over it and nodded.

The official sat at a table with the couple before him. He asked the couple if they wanted to say anything. They didn't have any vows, so they just said a few words from the heart to each other. The couple had their iris' scanned, signed the license and were wed. The kids suffered through two rounds of toasts and ditched the party…_the heat_ had other plans for them this night.

They spent another hour with the older couple and then Torlin showed them to the other sitting rooms so that they could spend some time with their friends and crewmates. Shepard made her rounds, careful to leave no one out, not even Legion.

She had surprised him one day aboard the ship by bringing him more pieces of some of her older N7 armor so that he could better repair himself. She had asked him if he wanted her to order him some male N7 armor, but he refused. He seemed to only want armor that had been hers. He was able to use a back plate to patch up the hole. She wasn't sure how he did it; he kept the old scraps of armor intact, added the new piece and somehow it all fit together and looked like it could have belonged on him. He was a marvel of ingenuity.

She liked him a lot. And no matter how many times she was corrected about him being an it, she continued to call it a him. That is how she saw him. He was one of her crew, an equal…a friend. And she adored him. She lavished the same affection on him that she did on anyone else, touching or kissing his face flaps. He was like an adorable floppy eared puppy cocking its head. Too cute to resist.

Legion had adjusted to her eccentricities fast. Her husband even joked that it flapped its plates as often as possible just to get more of her attention lavished on it.

By the time she'd made it through all of her friends, she was exhausted. She excused herself, told her husband to stay and enjoy himself, and made her way back to the master bedroom. Kolyat followed hot on her heels. "I'm a big girl…I can make this walk all by myself, you know."

"The only place I want to be is with you. It's all I've ever wanted. All I've ever needed." Kolyat told her softly. "I watched you die tonight, ange. I need to be near you."

He peeled off her blue leather suit, stepped out of his own clothing and joined her on the bed. He shivered as dual cool breezes passed through him. She pushed out and merged them. She couldn't stop the small smile when she felt Garrus' and Thane's presence. She knew they needed her right now too. Kolyat lay next to her and ran his hands lightly down her body, a wave of goosebumps following in the wake of his fingers.

"I think you like this."

"Perhaps just a little."

That he liked it too was a given. He took one breast in hand and one in mouth. She cried out as two very different sensations hit her at the same time. Kolyat's hot, moist mouth and his nimble fingers played havoc to her senses.

She ran her hand down his body and slid her fingers over the evidence of his arousal. His hips bucked into her palm as she increased the pressure and tempo of her movements.

As he continued to lavish her breasts with attention, he trailed his hand down her flat belly through her tight curls to her core. Kolyat moved his thumb against hidden nub and dipped his fingers into her, moving against the spot that drove her mad. Her hips rose from the bed as she cried out in pleasure.

He worked his mouth slowly down her body until his tongue replaced his thumb. She screamed and bucked as he moved within her and against her. When her body started to stiffen Kolyat suckled and ground against her more aggressively. She held tight to his head as the orgasm tore through her. She fell back against the pillows. "You are really going to kill me if you keep doing that to me."

"No, wife. I am going to love you. You do the killing all on your own."

"Ouch." Then a wicked smile played on her mouth. "Your turn."

When aftershocks ended and heartbeats settled, he curled up around her and placed his hand on her belly. She had given him a connection to their babies he had never thought to have. She kept them merged long enough to allow daddies and babies to feel each other again and then she released it. He couldn't wait until she was far enough along to feel the babies move. Another dual wave of cold washed over him as the dead departed.

Come morning, he awoke her with kisses and they enjoyed a little morning love. Breakfast was going to be a bit later due to protocol of 4 meals, so Kolyat showed her the closet where a blue dress and her blue workout clothes were hung. He had sent someone back to the ship to gather up some more clothing for them last night. She was so excited about not having to wear the same outfit as yesterday.

When they were in their workout suits, they met up with the Rojik and Solana who took them to a sparring room. It was massive. A few soldiers were already sparring, but for the most part it was empty. Some dummies of various sizes around the outsides of the room, but it mostly consisted of mats and padded walls.

Kolyat tossed her micro-foam guards and they began their stretching together. The turians had never seen pair stretching so snickered at what they considered must be odd, human behavior. Then Rojik and Kolyat faced off. While they were sparring she began a series of flips and backbends…a gymnastics set that got her blood flowing.

The turians stopped their match. They couldn't decide who to watch, Shepard's bizarre actions or the drell-turian match. Both were equally interesting to them.

Shepard looked over at the pair of turians and waved them over.

They looked at each other and walked over to her.

"Let's dance boys."

They gave her a cold look. "Turians don't _dance_."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she said remembering her moments with Garrus. "I think it is more accurate to say they've never tried. But, that isn't want I meant anyway. I'll take on either or both of you."

They looked at each other and laughed. "The little human wants to spar."

"She's a dignitary, we might hurt her."

"Boys, I'm beginning to think you're afraid of me."

They laughed harder. "No, just afraid of reprisals if you are injured,_ little_ human."

"You would actually need to touch me to injure me and I don't think you're capable of it."

The smiles left their faces. They nodded to each other. One stepped away.

She shook her head. "Both of you."

She stood, knees slightly bent as they began to circle her, sizing her up. She tuned out everything but their every movement. She saw them gather themselves and knew they were both going to charge her at the same time. She waited…timing crucial. Three…two…wait for it…one…She jumped up, kicked out her legs, doing a mid-air split and slamming them both under the chin and sending them stumbling backwards, one of them hit the mats jarringly. She'd gotten their attention.

The match then became more difficult. She'd never sparred with two at one time before, so she had to rely on her wits and flexibility. Above all, she had to keep moving so as not to make herself a target. She used their legspurs and fringes against them. More than once she'd grabbed hold of their head fringes to spin them to the mats. It was dirty on her part, but with two against her, she had to use what she could. More times than they could count they ended up doing a bit of damage to each other because by the time their moves followed through, she just wasn't there anymore. She was relying solely on her gymnastics training, some drell moves Kolyat had showed her and her own improvising. She didn't have the reach needed to fight turian style. Not against turians.

Eventually, they nodded to her in respect and quit the mats. She turned to her husband and threw down the gauntlet. Kolyat shook his head. "You just had a tough match; you're too tired to take me on."

"I'm never too tired to take you on." She said seductively.

Kolyat's mouth opened then closed. He felt himself grow hard. "You're going down."

"Only on you, darling."

Kolyat closed his eyes and ground his teeth hard, straining to hold in a private memory he did not want to share. When he was able to control himself again he shot her a vindictive glare. "You will pay for that."

"Promises…promises."

Word had spread about her taking on the two turian soldiers. More turians came by to watch her spar. They flowed around each other like ribbons. They would each manage to send the other flying, but a twist of the body and they never hit the mats. With the last move, Kolyat's body followed through and for a moment he had his back to her…that was all she needed. She launched herself at him, put her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself. He spun around and they toppled to the mats, his face buried between her clenched thighs. He lightly nipped her and blew hot breath on her. Her thighs fell open. He took a deep breath to calm himself, which was the last thing he should have done. The smell of her desire…her pheromones tore through him. He was shaking as he crawled up her body and pinned her arms. He ground against her, the need for her too intense. He lowered his head, intent on capturing her mouth.

With him in a position they understood, the turians hooted and cheered. They began to laugh even harder when they saw Rojik pluck Kolyat off of her. He knew the moment Kolyat had become lost to her. He'd lost himself to his lifemate enough times to read the signs. Kolyat took deep breaths, now that he was away from his wife his head cleared. He nodded to Rojik and watched as Rojik and Solana took his place on the mats against his wife.

Kolyat still needed an outlet… he was too worked up. He caught the eye of one soldier and nodded. The soldier stepped on the mats. Kolyat tossed him foam guards and they faced off.

With the two matches going at the same time, the viewers couldn't decide who to watch. Solana was the patriarch's daughter…the guard was the Captain of the guard. They were surprised that Solana didn't seem to be holding back, despite sparring with a smaller human. That showed her great respect.

By the time they quit the mats, the human and the drell had earned their respect.

"I would give anything for a shower right now." Shepard said wistfully.

Solana chuckled. "I've no doubt. We just so happen to have a guest shower. It's filtered. Grab your things, I'll show you where it is…I think Rojik and I will hit the showers too." She said flaring her mandibles at her husband. Rojik purred.

Shepard sighed. Damn if she didn't miss Garrus' purr.

Kolyat locked the door as his wife stripped and stepped under the cascading water. He was quick to join her.

Refreshed and sated they headed back to their room, quietly talking until breakfast was served. Hand in hand they made their way to the dining hall. She greeted Rojik and Solana with a hug. When Rojik embraced her he whispered, "Thank you, Shepard. You have given me a priceless gift."

"I know exactly what you're going through." She said smiling up at him. He stood for a moment stunned and then shook his head.

"Yes, you do...apparently more times than anyone." He acknowledged with a bow.

"Your a good man, Rojik. I'm glad you have each other."

The new lifemates were glowing and their eyes kept finding their way back to each other. A lifemate was a lifemate and it was hard to keep your hands and eyes off of them.

She made her way over to her new mom and dad. She pulled them each in for a hug too and placed a kiss on their mandibles. Torlin hugged her awkwardly. He pulled back a bit and lowered his forehead to hers. Then he cleared his throat and moved stiffly away.

Julsie and Solana just stared at each other stunned. That Torlin would allow the embrace, was shocking, that he would return it and accept the kiss was unbelievable. That he gave her affection given only to a mate or small child was inconceivable.

Shepard gave them a blinding smile and returned to her husband. Kolyat grinned at the smile-shocked couple. He pulled his wife into his arms. "I have to wonder if Solana is not in love with you herself."

Shepard pulled back to look into his eyes. She opened her mouth then closed it. She paused for a moment and then nodded. "I'm not blind, Kolyat. I see everything. I know Wrex loves me as family, Liara's in love with me, Tali's in love with me, Kaidan is love with me, Samara's in love with me – but will fight it with everything in her, Jacob's infatuated, Legion is infatuated, Kelly's in love with me, Bailey's infatuated, Joker loves me as family, Solana loves me…there is nothing I don't see. I don't feel. I just choose to pretend not to know. I feel it is in everybody's best interest."

Kolyat's mouth dropped open. He hadn't even been aware of some of those people's feelings.

They sat down at the table. Kitchen staff filled their plates high with food. She made sure she was dished some drell and turian tidbits as well. They continued to talk softly amongst themselves as they fed each other.

"How did you two meet? How did you end up together?" Solana asked.

"I was in the midst of doing something stupid. She barged into my world, tossed me on my ass and sent my heart spinning." Kolyat pulled her hand to his lips. "She saved my life in more ways than I can say. She was agonizing over the death of her lifemate, my father, and still she found the strength to comfort me and give me the closure that I needed, to ease my suffering. She turned me to C-Sec and returned to her mission. I was so crazy in love with her that I drove the other cadets mad with my incessant mooning." He said with a chuckle."I learned and grew so much during my time with C-Sec. When she finally returned she gave me a tour of the Normandy. She let me say goodbye to my father..." He gave her a searching glance and she nodded. "For just a little while, we were able to give each other the comfort and love that we needed."

Kolyat grabbed his head and started breathing hard, fighting to control the memory that sought to break through. When he pushed it back, he sighed in relief. "Sorry, a memory nearly slipped out…Not something I wanted to share." His eyes met hers and they both flushed. "When she left again, she took my heart with her. I could no more stop loving her than I could stop breathing. She returned to the Citadel following the loss of her second lifemate. When I found out she was pregnant with our children, I knew I could not let her walk out of my life again. After I finally convinced her to be my wife, the fates gave her to me. She became my lifemate." Kolyat ran his hand through her hair and pulled her in for a steamy kiss.

"That's not possible." Rojik said, running his hand down his face.

Solana squeezed his hand. "It's Shepard."

Shepard sighed. "So people keep telling me. In fact, that is something they've been telling me all of my life. Thane once told me that I'd built a career on doing the impossible. But I think I've built my whole life on it."

They looked up when they saw the Vakarians sit down at the table across from Rojik and Solana. "We have a gift for you." Torlin said. "Had you been able to remain on Palaven I'd have had a house built for you on our land, but we thought this would serve you better." He said as he handed Solana the e-pad.

She flipped it on and her mandibles spread wide. She ran around the table and hugged both her parents. Her father stood stiffly, but allowed it. She turned to her husband. "I've been honorably discharged. Released from military service. I don't have to finish my last three years!" She ran back around the table. Rojik stood up and took her into his arms, brought his mouth to hers and gave her a scorching kiss. Torlin raised his browplates in surprise at their very un-turian behaviour.

Shepard hadn't even realized the problem. Though now she could see it clearly. Each turian had to give at least ten years of military service. That was a very thoughtful gift, indeed.

When the meal finally ended they bade their goodbyes and returned to their room.

It was time to get ready for the services. The services would consist of two parts. The private gathering of family and friends in the sitting room Garrus' chamber resided in and public gathering at the family crypt, where he would rest with his ancestors. She was glad for that. It would have been hard to watch his body burn on a pire or be weighted down and dropped into the ocean. Knowing there was a place she could go to be near him made it easier to handle.

She stripped off leisure clothes, took the blue dress out of the closet, and shimmied into it. It had no straps, her bond marks displayed proudly on her shoulders. The bustier pushed her breasts up and out. The bustier had a series of diamond cut outs going down the front and back, expanding with size the lower they went. The smallest one began in the middle of her breasts, showing a peek-a-boo of where they met in the middle. The largest one encompassed her sapphire imbued navel and dipped down to her pubic line. The dress' metallic glow shimmied when she moved. The skirt clung to her hips like a second skin down to mid-thigh when it flared loose and flowing down to her toes and training out behind her a bit.

Kolyat pulled her into his arms and drew her in for a kiss. She could feel his body shaking with need. She carefully lifted her skirt and fell to her knees. She did not merge them this time. This was solely for him. She lavished all her love on him. She pulled back when he told her to and suckled the tip of him until he cried out, the head of his shaft flattening as spent himself inside her mouth. She closed his pants over his hardness and he pulled her up into a heated kiss. "Gods… what you do to me, wife. You look good enough to eat." Kolyat noticed his wife turned nearly scarlet. "What's the matter?"

She burst out laughing. "In human culture "eat" can be a crude way to describe…the, er…amazing things your tongue can do to my…um…lower reaches."

Kolyat looked at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes opened wide and he smiled. "If that is the case, this evening needs to end soon so that I can eat my wife."

She blushed harder and laughed with embarrassment. "Stars…I should never have told you that…I doubt you will ever let me live it down."

"Not a chance." He said as he ushered her out the door to the sitting parlor, where her lifemate lay. They were waved to the front to sit with the immediate family. Right now everyone was talking quietly among themselves. She was introduced to aunts, uncles and cousins she would never be able to remember the names of.

She was in a daze. This was the last day she would ever be able to look upon his face. The enormity of it was unbearable. She moved to his chamber and looked down at him. Her tears slid down the smooth glass. She lowered her forehead to it. "Open your eyes, my love…Don't leave me," she whispered. A chill went down her spine and she closed her eyes. She knew he was hugging her, felt his love in his cool caress. Then she felt two very real hands touch her. She stood up and turned to face two very concerned turian women. "I'm so sorry. I'm…I'm the only one here acting like an idiot." She said unable to stop the pain and the tears. "Perhaps I shouldn't be here. I don't want to ruin this for anyone." She moved away, intending to leave, but they wouldn't release her.

"You are not an idiot. He is your lifemate. Most of us have never had a lifemate, but we know people who have and we know the intensity of that bond. That is also why it is good that lifemates don't survive each other, the loss would be…unsurmountable. So, don't think for a moment that we think any less of you or can't understand what you're going through." Julsie said pulling her in for a tight hug.

"I want to crawl in there with him. I can't bear never being able to see his face again. Hear his beautiful voice. Feel his touch. I put his chamber in the forward batteries on the ship. He loved calibrating the guns. So, I laid him to rest there. I would go in and talk to him every day. That's probably not very healthy, but it hurts to lose that final connection." She admitted.

Solana took her from her mother's arms and held her close. "I don't know what you believe, Shepard, but we believe in spirits. He will always be with you. You're his lifemate. There is nowhere else he can be until you are with him again. Hold that close to your heart. And know that you have us. We will always be here for you too. Don't ever forget that. You are a sister and a daughter to us. We love you."

"Thank you for understanding. And thank you for your kind words. I can't begin to tell you what it means to me."

The women moved aside when Torlin approached Shepard. He looked down at her and then pulled her into his embrace. "You and yours are always welcome in our home. I apologize for anything I said or thought about you. You are nothing like I thought you'd be and everything I would have wanted for my son. He was lucky to have found you. And we are lucky to have you as part of this family. I expect to be seeing those grandbabies of ours one of these days." He dropped his head to hers briefly, cleared his throat and led her over to her concerned husband.

Kolyat pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Now that she was his lifemate, he knew the full impact of what that meant and the agony she was going through. He could not even bear the thought of Shepard's death and was thankful he would not survive it.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could handle it…I hadn't realized it would hurt so much."

"Gods—don't apologize, ange. He is your lifemate. You are living through something lifemates are never forced to go through. Even the fates are not that cruel. Except to you…I don't think they like you very much, wife."

"Tell me about it. They've been dogging my ass for years."

"You survived the death of two lifemates. The fates are probably kicking up a storm that you defied them."

"Great, as if I don't have enough to worry about."

"You are the strongest person I know. Probably the strongest anyone has known. There is nothing you can't handle. Nothing you can't accomplish."

"Right. Because I'm feeling pretty strong right now."

"I will always be here for you, ange. You have family now too. You will never be alone."

Shepard felt his presence again. She saw her husband go still and thought perhaps he might have felt it too. She knew Garrus and Thane were still looking out for her.

Eventually, everyone found their seats. Friends and family regaled stories about Garrus. She learned so much about her lifemate. She couldn't help but smile through her tears. They were celebrating his life, not focusing on his death. As his lifemate, the final words were her own. Played from the recording she'd accidentally made aboard the ship.

Everyone stood and began filing out. It was time to walk to the crypt for the formal gathering. Shepard and her friends made their way to their own rooms to put on their armor for the trek outside. Torlin, with his arm around Julsie led them to the family crypt.

Shepard was surprised by the heavy turnout. This time the stories told were about his military service. The things he'd accomplished, the missions he went on with his fellow soldiers. They relayed stories he'd told them, how he'd made them laugh or how he'd butted heads with them. Again, the final words were hers...replayed once more.

His chamber hovered into the crypt, where only she and the three Vakarians were allowed in. She leaned over the chamber a final time, looking into his beloved face. "I will always love you." She kissed the glass and stepped away and the chamber rose and slid into a slot on the side of the crypt wall. He was well and truly gone now. She sank to her knees and bowed her head while the rest of her family left to let her grieve in private. She felt him all around her and she couldn't bear to leave.

She was unaware of the passing time. Eventually, Kolyat came in and picked her up, carrying her out of the crypt. The door closing behind them. Kolyat, Rojik, and Solana had remained behind. Torlin and Julise had guests to attend to at the house, a feast and party for friends and family was traditional in celebration of a life.

Rojik and Solana touched heads to her and Kolyat took her to their room. He helped her off with her armor and then removed his.

"I'll be right back; I'm going to get us a tray of food."

"No. I'll join them. I need to do this."

He held out his arm for her and escorted them to the sitting room. A large picture was hung on the wall next to other fallen Vakarians. She walked over to it. She reached her hand out in front of the picture, and ran it down the side of his face, careful to not actually touch the picture. It looked so real. His eyes open and looking at her. She could see the gleam in them. The spark and fire that was always burning in them. She snapped a picture of it with her omni-tool. She didn't have very many vids or pictures of him.

She looked around and noticed her husband was over talking to Torlin and Julsie. They nodded and he returned to her side. Within a few minutes staff came in and began arranging the tables and chairs along the sides of the room rather than the middle. Then soft music began to fill the room. Most of the turians looked around uncomfortably. They knew this was for Garrus' lifemate and accepted it as alien eccentricities.

Kolyat held his hand out and pulled Shepard onto the make-shift dance floor. She couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness. Dancing was a great way to relieve stress.

She knew it was going to be a long, exhausting night. There were a lot of people here and she intended to have at least half a dance with each one. Her next dance went to David and then she pulled Torlin onto the floor. He was stiff at first and nearly refused her out of hand…but a wide smile on her part made him crumble. He began to relax and enjoy himself. Of course, he would never tell anyone that. She pulled Julsie onto the floor next. Juslie was quick to learn the moves, so she taught her a few she could do with her husband. She whispered that she knew he would cave if she pushed him enough to dance with her. Then she moved onto Rojik, who awkwardly moved them around the dance floor. Then his eyes sought out his lifemate and he smiled at her. He gave her a few more turns, tilted her head up, dropped his head to hers, thanked her, bowed, made his way to his lifemate and spun her onto the dance floor.

Shepard let them have the dance. She grabbed Wrex , who awkwardly moved and griped the whole time. Of course, it didn't stop him from holding her close. He was probably hoping Garrus was watching from the afterlife. She then broke in and stole Solana from Rojik.

"Damn, Shepard. You're an extraordinary woman…easy to love. It would not be easy being your lifemate. Too many people love you. Not sure how Kolyat does it."

"I'm sure there's just as many who would like nothing better than to see me dead." She said with a laugh.

"No doubt. Thank you, sister. Thank you for bringing us together. And thank you for teaching me how to kiss." She said with a laugh. She tilted Shepard's head up and laid her forehead against her.

Shepard showed her a few sensual moves to use on Rojik later. They hugged and Shepard searched out a new partner. She pulled Liara onto the floor.

Liara put her arms around Shepard's neck and pulled her in close. She couldn't stop the tears. The woman she loved was always just out of reach. She closed her eyes as they swayed, enjoying the feel of Shepard against her.

-1- (May add more here later)

It was a long, tiring evening, but she'd gotten to every last turian and friend. Legion even surprised her. He had apparently researched the moves to an old earth dance and she laughed as he twirled her around the floor. He was surprisingly graceful. When he dipped her at the end, she reached up and kissed his headlight.

There had been no official dinner, just trays of every food imaginable laid out on tables along the edges of the room. Shepard discovered just how spicy Salarian food could be. Her throat nearly closed up in protest…but she'd eat it again for grins and giggles. It was actually good…when she wasn't choking.

She made her way to a chair, took off her shoes and propped her feet up on a second chair. Her husband was quickly at her side. Kolyat sat down, put her feet in his lap and began to rub them. She closed her eyes and moaned in ecstasy. Her feet were so damn sore from the shoes and the dancing. She could swear she'd end up in a puddle on the floor.

Kolyat looked at her critically. "It's time to call it an evening. You're worn out."

"I can't." Shepard said frantically.

"Gods, ange…I know you're tired. Why not?"

"My feet. I can't walk…they hurt too much." She admitted sheepishly.

Kolyat put her feet down and bent to pick her up. That bade their goodbyes and made their way to the master bed room.

He peeled the dress from her body and removed the tiny scrap that covered her tight curls. She was so close…smelled so good…he darted in and ran his tongue through her folds and flicked her nub. She moaned and her hips bucked. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, and laid her down gently.

He removed his clothing, crawled into bed with her and showed her just how much he loved her. They fell asleep, legs entwined, his hand on her belly. Tomorrow after breakfast they would be heading back to the Normandy, at least the crew was. Solana was going to take her to a few sights before they returned. Shepard needed a visit to the med-bay and they had still had a hell of a lot of work to do…it was time to get back to the mission.

Kolyat woke her up come morning and they had a final love scene on Palaven. When breakfast was over she made her tearful goodbyes to Liara and Wrex…she apologized for the tears…the babies were making her emotional.

When Solana was done with her goodbyes to her parents, Kolyat stepped up, hugged Julsie and shook Torlin's hand. Shepard moved in and hugged and kissed them both. "I love you both and will miss you. I promise I will keep in touch…if you want me to."

"Of course we do." Julsie assured her.

She smiled at them both. Torlin grunted, pulled away and put his arm around his wife. Everyone but Solana and Rojik slipped their helmets on and headed out to the small shuttle that awaited them. The palatial shuttle had already left with the rest of the dignitaries.

Solana instructed the pilot to head to the Stroilik Museum. They were able to remove their armor because the next stop had hangars to land in for tourists. They looked out the window amazed at the glittering city below. According to Solana all cities had fortified walls still in use.

They pulled into the hangar and proceeded through a security check-point. When her Spectre status was verified her group was allowed to retain any weapons they had on them. As they wandered through the gallery, Solana pointed out paintings, sculptures and artifacts that had special meaning to the turian culture. Paintings and sculptures tended to have broad, bold strokes. It was different than the types of art she was used to seeing. It was stunning in a utilitarian way.

When they were back in the shuttle, Shepard and Kolyat talked to Solana and Rojik about C-Sec. As lifemates they'd be teamed together. Lifemates may not be common, but everyone knew not to separate them. Getting them to allow them both into the academy would be the tricky part. She would pull any strings necessary to see that it happened.

Next stop was the Cravitus Zoo. They stepped back into their armor and headed out into the mid-day sun. Shepard was stunned by the strangeness of the animals within. They all had metallic shells or plates, sometimes in the oddest areas. Some were almost cute, others walked out of a nightmare. One such monstrosity was a huge, bear-sized beast with a long pointed snout, with two rows of sharp pointy teeth.

She felt an odd pull towards it. She rose over the protective barrier and moved in towards the beast. It snarled at her and showed it mouth full of teeth. It charged at her, swinging a massive paw at her. She didn't move. It stared at her with cold, beady eyes and snapped its teeth. It began to stalk her. She held out her hand and encased it in a stasis bubble. She hadn't wanted to do that, but she needed to get close enough to try to merge with it. She could feel its pain, but couldn't tell where the pain was coming from. When she stood next to the massive beast she pushed out and merged their auras. Alien feelings washed through her. Unorganized, hectic. She sent relaxing, soothing thoughts to the beast. Then she closed her eyes and forced the sight. The creature had a brownish tan aura with reddish tints. But she could see the problem. Something was lodged in its…no his neck area. She opened an area in the stasis bubble so that she could feel the creature's neck. No good. The damage was to the inside not the outside. She opened the bubble at the top of the creatures head and touched his facial plates. She sent more relaxing, soothing energy to him through her aura. She slowly worked the bubble lower over his head, rubbing him and soothing him as she went.

She held her hand out and threw up a barrier bubble around them in case the zoo keepers made it in before she was through. When his whole head was free she stroked the hard muzzle. He opened his mouth and grunted. She glowed, sent more calming energy, removed her glove and slowly put her hand into the huge mouth. By the time her hand reached the back of his throat her whole arm up past the shoulder was submerged between the needle sharp teeth. Her hand felt the obstruction. She began siphoning from the creature even as she started healing him. She pictured the obstruction being forced out as it healed in behind it. The creature had to be feeling double pleasure at the moment, the lessening of pain as well as the pleasure of the siphoning. When the obstruction popped out into her hand she slowly withdrew her arm. Ew. Her arm was all slimy. Thank god for the armor. A broken, sharp bone lay in her hand. She threw it to the ground and put her glove back on.

The creature rubbed his head against her. She expanded the barrier bubble forcing the zoo keepers back through the door they'd entered from. She threw up a barrier field in front of the door, if they charged back in someone would get hurt.

She released the creature from the stasis bubble. He rocked himself against her and she tumbled to the ground. He lay down next to her, put a massive paw on her belly and rubbed his snout into her. She laughed, moved his paw and pulled herself up by hanging onto one of his plates. He rolled over on the ground; she straddled him and rubbed vigorously at his exposed, tough skin. When she got off him, he rose and shook himself. She walked over to his uneaten food with him at her heals and picked up a huge slice of something she didn't want to identify. She held it out to him and he gently took it out of her fingers. It was time to go. She headed for the protective barrier. He gobbled another piece of meat and charged after her. He rocked into her again and she glowed briefly and kept her balance.

He grunted and gave off two higher pitched mewls at her. She couldn't resist that. She turned around, walked up to the beast and pulled his head down. She wrapped her arms around as much of his neck as she could and touched her helmet to his hard nose. Then she returned to the barrier and rose over it. The beast charged at the barrier and rose on his hind legs, placing his paws as close to the barrier as he dared. He knew better than to touch it. She reached her hand out nodded and waved to the beast. He swung his massive head up and down and waved his paw.

When her feet touched the ground her husband was all over her. The beast let out a savage roar and charged the barrier. He stumbled back as bolts of harsh energy struck him. He stood, shook himself, bounced back and forth on his front legs and readied for another charge. She asked Kolyat to back off for the time being. She raised her hand and waved. He waved back and mewled.

When they were out of the beast's sight her Kolyat shaking her, clutching her to him and yelling at her. Rojik and Solana joined in.

Solana eyed Kolyat…"You're a biotic…learn to do that floaty thing."

"I most certainly will."

"I wasn't in any danger."

Their eyes opened wide in shock, well at least the two sets of eyes she could see. "Not in any-" Kolyat sputtered. "You had that thing's teeth up to your neck. If it bit down-"

"I have my armor on and I shielded myself…but it wasn't necessary. He wanted my help. He asked for it. He had a broken bone lodged deep in his throat. It was infected. I had to help."

Since Kolyat was so busy griping Solana pulled her into her arms. "You scared the hell out of all of us, Shep." She placed her head against Shepard's and released her.

Rojik looked at Kolyat. "I don't know how you do it. I swear she'd put me in the grave if she were my lifemate." He turned a worried look to Solana. "Tell me you won't ever do anything like that."

"Not ever." She assured him, her mandibles spreading when he sighed in relief.

That is when they looked up and noticed the crowd of people watching them and pointing at them. The crowd made its way steadily closer like it was approaching a wild animal.

"Crap." Solana looked at Kolyat. "Follow me!"

Kolyat grabbed her hand and took off at a run after Solana and Rojik. They darted in and around various displays. The crowd followed. They took a sharp left as soon as they lost the crowd and she led them down into a tunnel. They opened the door at the bottom and slipped inside. The lights came on by the time the door closed behind them. Besides them, the room was empty.

She looked around in awe. She tried to break free from the hand that held her, but he wouldn't let go, so she pulled him along with her. They were under a massive aquarium. This enclosure was more designed for tourists, because turians weren't fans of being under tons of water. She looked through the clear permiglass walls at an alien underwater nightmare world. Where the creatures within made sharks and crocodiles look like cuddly kittens.

Solana made her way over to a storage closet. She hacked it and started sorting through its contents. Kolyat held her tightly. Guess he didn't much trust her left to her own devises. But she was uncertain what trouble she could get into in the underground room.

Solana returned with two long coats. She tossed them to Kolyat and Shepard. Kolyat helped her with her coat then drew on his own. He had researched human wooing customs and used them as often as he could. Her smiles were worth it.

The coats had zoo emblems on them and the cowls could be pulled up far enough to shield their heads. With luck they could make it back to the shuttle without the crowd noticing them.

As they left the underground chamber her husband didn't hold her hand, that would look to strange, but everyone walked very close to her. They passed a few more enclosures as they made their way back to the shuttle. One held monkey like creatures that shrieked and chattered as they walked by. Another enclosure held massive pterodactyl type birds with plated carapaces, sharp teeth and huge leathery wings. The final enclosure they passed was a petting zoo for children. Various harmless plated animals stood within while children squealed and giggled over them. Apparently, zoos were zoos no matter where you went.

As they neared the exit a small child ran up to them. He thought she was a zoo official. The child was shaking and crying. She squatted down and the child looked into her helmeted face. His eyes grew wide. She held her finger up to her face in the universal shushing sign. She picked up the child and balanced him on her hip.

"What's the matter sweetie?"

"I lost my mommy and daddy."

She pushed out and merged her aura to his and sent calming soothing energy to him. His eyes opened wide and he placed a sticky hand against her helmet. She took off her glove and he grabbed her strange, odd fingers, marveling at their alienness. "My name is Commander Shepard and I will help you find your parents." She moved her hand to the side of his neck and connected herself to him via touch and aura. She felt a slight pull and began to follow where it led. It was like a childhood game of hot and cold. Eventually the pull was strong enough that she could follow it directly. She saw a turian couple frantically waving their arms about talking to another turian with the zoo's emblem on his shirt. Shepard put her glove back on and waved Solana in the couple's direction. Solana nodded, pulled the couple away from the official and pointed in their direction.

The couple made a beeline for their child. She tried to put the child down, but he wouldn't let go of her. She saw the shock register on the couple's faces when they saw who held their child. She tried to hand the child over to his mother, but he held on tight. He grabbed her helmet and lowered her head to touch his. She gave him a tight hug and then he turned and held his hands out for his mother.

Shepard introduced herself and shook their hands. Solana spoke quietly to them to calm them down. They handed her a datapad, she nodded and gave them her autograph. They left the couple talking excitedly amongst themselves. They needed to take their leave before the couple drew too much attention to them.

When they climbed aboard the shuttle Kolyat helped her remove her coat and armor and she fell bonelessly onto the seat. Solana directed the driver to their final destination. Erataka's …one of Garrus' favorite restaurants. It catered to tourists as well, so had levo food on the menu.

They pulled into a tourist hangar so that armor wouldn't be needed. She signed her name on the waiting list. Shepard received a ping on her omni tool, she opened the screen and a turian greeted her, asking her to bring her group forward. The manager's mandibles flared wide and he bowed his head at her, telling her how pleased they were to have her grace their humble establishment. They were escorted to the second floor VIP section. Kolyat held out her chair to seat her and they all sat down and poured over the menu.

With their orders placed, they talked quietly until Shepard was pinged again. She raised the screen and Bailey's face popped up. He'd just heard about her string pulling and wanted to relay the information personally that both of the kids were accepted and enrolled into the academy. They would begin training as soon as they returned. It was all a formality, he said. With the military training they already had they would surely graduate within a couple of weeks. Shepard thanked him for letting her know and signed off. With sparkling eyes and a wide smile she gave the news to the young turians. The lunch became a celebration.

When the food arrived they tore into their meals. Kolyat and Shepard absently continued to feed each other as they ate. As the meal came to an end, their plates were removed and the manager asked if they wouldn't mind a picture being taken to go up on their VIP wall. She and Kolyat stood behind the seated turians for the picture. They were thanked profusely, asked her to sign it and refused payment for the meal… lunch was on the house.

They headed back down the stairs to the restaurant's lower level. The vid screen halted its program for a special news bulletin that showed someone's omni-recordings of her deeds at the zoo. They looked at each other, grinned and fled the establishment before the connection to her could be made. They piled aboard the shuttle and made their way back to the port city and the Normandy.

In the Normandy's airlock she asked EDI to have a couple of crewmen standing by to collect their armor. When the decontamination protocol ended and the doors opened she handed their armor to the crewmen and asked Rojik and Solana to join them in medbay.

Mordin and Chakwas were ready and waiting when they filed in. She stripped down to her bra and panties and climbed up on the table. Rojik tried his best not to show that he'd just swallowed his tongue. He had never before seen so much soft, white skin. Solana a bit in awe herself smiled and hugged her star-struck lifemate.

A holo popped up of Shepard's body and Mordin zoomed it in to display the babies on the screen. Shepard released the barrier bubbles that surrounded the babies. Mordin drew several vials of blood as Chakwas inserted massive needle into Shepard's abdomen. She cried out as she squeezed the life out of her husband's hands.

Everyone watched intently as the needle pierced the membrane and withdrew the amniotic fluid. She removed the needle and handed it off to Mordin. She inserted a new needle. Shepard bit her lip trying not to scream when it pierced her skin. It extracted a bit of amniotic fluid and refilled the membrane. Chakwas left the needle in place, unscrewed the syringe and inserted a longer, hair thin needle that Mordin had prepared with the gene therapy. She blew up the picture of the dextro baby until only it could be seen in the screen. She maneuvered the large needle until it was near the baby. She pierced the baby's leg with the tiny needle and injected the contents. Shepard gasped as the needle was withdrawn.

Solana watched a bead of blood travel from the wound and work its way down her belly. Solana was shocked to her toes when Shepard said take it. "Take what?"

"My blood. Take it."

Kolyat was just as shocked. Solana looked to him and he nodded. She turned to her lifemate. He was uncomfortable with the idea, but it seemed to have a special meaning to Shepard that he couldn't comprehend. He shrugged. Since Kolyat was accepting it, he would too. Though he was damned sure going to ask him why later. He nodded to his lifemate.

Solana looked at Shepard's white belly and blood that marred it. Kolyat turned his eyes away. Some things he did not need to see. Solana bent over Shepard and ran her tongue along her belly, careful to catch every last drop. When her tongue reached the needle hole, she held her head and told her to drink. She lapped at the small wound and more drops of blood coated her tongue. She could feel it rushing through her veins, revitalizing her. Shepard released her head and she stood up looking down on her in wonder. Her blood packed a hell of a punch. She looked up at Kolyat. "What just happened?"

Kolyat sighed. "What I tell you two must never go any further and I can't speak of it in here. Come to the cabin with us and we'll try to answer your questions."

"We'll meet you there in 30, if that's okay." They smiled and nodded. Solana grinned, grabbed her lifemate's hand and dashed out the door.

"EDI - they don't have a clue where they're going. Please direct them to the life support chamber." Shepard and Kolyat broke out laughing.

When they reached the life support chamber they would be staying in for the duration of the voyage, their eyes went straight to the bed. It wasn't a large bed, but certainly had room enough for two. The ignored the covered chamber affixed to the wall. He pulled Solana into his arms and gave her a searing kiss. Spirits he was grateful to Shepard for teaching them about kissing. They tore off each other's clothes and she put the new energy Shepard's blood had given her to good use.

As Shepard dressed the doctors assured them that she and the babies were in optimal health. They thanked them and made their way to their cabin. In the elevator the kisses grew hot and the touches bold. They stumbled into the cabin, clothes came off before the door even closed.

When they were sated and enjoying the aftershocks, he asked her why she had chosen to share her blood with Solana.

"I wanted to protect her. I'm not sure of the dangers she will face in C-Sec. But, it was the only thing I could think to do to protect her. She's Garrus' sister. He loved her. I love her. I had to."

"We only have a few minutes…get dressed." He reminded her.

She walked over and pulled out two shot glasses. She grabbed a knife and sliced her palm. She sucked in her breath from the pain and held her bleeding wound over the glasses. When the wound started knitting closed, she sliced it again.

"What are you doing?" Kolyat asked grabbing the knife.

"They need more. I need to do this for them. It's not like I will be able to do this often…I need to protect them when I can." She took the knife gently back from him and sliced her palm again. When both shot glasses were filled, she rinsed off the knife and her palm in the sink. The cut was already scabbing over. She rubbed a dose of medigel on it and the scab melted away into pink puckered scar tissue. That too would heal soon.

When the comm chimed she told them to come in. Rojik and Solana entered the door hand in hand.

"Now, before we get on to explanations, I have something I'd like each of you to drink. I know the thought is appalling…but it is my way of protecting you." She pointed to the two shot glasses on the table.

"Is that what I think it is?" Solana asked in surprise.

"Yes. Will you drink it?" She asked hopefully.

Rojik and Solana looked at each other. They both remembered well what Shepard's blood had done for Solana and that had just been a trickle. They walked over to the table and picked up the shot glasses. They clinked them together and downed the contents. They closed their eyes as the rush hit them. It was absorbed through their tongues, mouths, and throat. By the time it would have reached their stomachs there was nothing left. They could feel it move through every part of their bodies. The feeling was indescribable.

While her husband was busy watching the young turians, she slipped around the corner, grabbed another shot glass, sliced her wrist for faster flow and filled up the glass. She ran her wrist and the knife under cold water and slipped a dose of medigel over her wrist so that it would knit up faster. She carried the shot glass out and handed it to her husband. "You have not had your shot for the day…figured we'd make it a family tradition." She said with a smile.

He looked at her, melted and emptied the glass. The effects of the blood hit him just as hard as the turians; you could not build up a tolerance. As the blood was absorbed into Kolyat his biotics flared, the blue shining with flecks of gold. He sparkled. Okay, wow. She had not expected that to happen. He looked at her in shock.

The turians looked at each other then at Shepard. They were just as stunned by what they saw happen. She grabbed their hands and pulled them over to one of the sofas. Then she sat down on the other and patted the space next to her.

Her husband joined her, placing a hand upon her thigh.

"I'm not even sure how to go about telling you what I'm about to tell you. I'm still trying to absorb the truth of it myself. You know how I have two souls…two lifemates. You know that I'm eccentric…that I'm different from other people. You have felt the effects of my blood. I can feel and know things I shouldn't be able to feel or know. I became pregnant naturally with babies that shouldn't exist. I have other… differences that I don't care to go into…but all these differences seem to stem from one fact that I have only recently been made aware of. Apparently, I'm not human. I never have been. I thought I was. Never questioned that I was, but I'm not. We don't know what I am. More tests are being done on my blood and amniotic fluid. We are hoping the results will eventually lead to details that are lacking right now." She paused for a moment and then looked at them closely. "Does my not being human bother you in any way?"

"Why would that bother me?" they asked in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Shep, as soon as I saw you...you were …I don't know…larger than life. More there. More alive. More…vibrant than anyone else. To call you a mere human is a disservice to you. Maybe I'm the wrong person to ask, but I've never seen you as a _human_. You were always _The Shepard_." Solana cleared her throat with embarrassment.

Rojik squeezed his lifemate's hand. "She's right. I felt it the moment I met you too."

Solana rose from the sofa and dropped to her knees at Shepard's feet. She laid her head in Shepard's lap.

Rojik moved the table aside and dropped down next to his lifemate. He laid his head on Shepard's other thigh.

She cradled them both to her. These two precious, beautiful young people who had come to mean the world to her. She ran her hands along the crests of their heads. Pouring her love into her touch. She was going to miss them when they were gone.

Before Shepard, Solana had never been all that_ tactile_…more so than turian males, but still more reserved than she was now. Shepard had brought out a need to touch_._..a need her lifemate learned to appreciate very quickly, she found she was enjoying touching immensely. In fact, she was beginning to think she couldn't touch enough. It was something she proved to Rojik the moment they stepped into the elevator.

The moment the door closed behind the young turians Kolyat stripped her and tossed her on the bed…her blood hot in his veins.

Shepard placed a large order of supplies that would be picked up at the Citadel when they arrived. Their larders would be stuffed with food for every species. She even added an order for krogan since they were due to be picking one up soon.

The next few days were both exciting and sad…knowing that it would all be ending too soon. Solana and Rojik joined them on the mats and they began working in teams or practiced sparring with more than one opponent. They spent a lot of time teaching the turian pair new moves. The turians quickly learned just how sensual the sparring could be. On more than one occasion they rushed from the rec room hand in hand. She and Kolyat hot on their heels, though there was a time or two they just sealed the rec room after the turian's departure.

The firing range was a huge hit with Solana and Rojik. A couple of times a day they made their way down there, kicking out whoever was using it. Their training came first. They wanted to make sure the pair was proficient in all the various weapons C-Sec used. Kolyat versed them in C-Sec protocol.

Shepard met with Legion privately every few days. When Mordin joined the crew he began to come to the secret meetings as well. So much was riding on the geth and salarians. So far no one was the wiser and no one had found out about the meetings. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep it up, but was determined to for as long as she could. Until things were settled more, she didn't want anyone else finding out what was going on. That included her husband.

Joker alerted them that they were waiting for docking clearance at the Citadel. Shepard was nervous, sad, and excited. Her mind going in several directions at once. She'd spent a lot of comm time with a realtor, trying to pick out the perfect flat for the young couple. She'd paid for it in full, they'd only need to cover taxes and utilities, both of which she'd covered for the first year. Her VIP status allowed her to purchase a lower level flat. It had a large hot tub. She hoped like mad they'd like it. She had yet to tell her husband. Kolyat didn't know just how wealthy she had been. Recent expenditures had taken a massive chunk out of her wealth and she was pretty sure there would not be much left by the time she was through. But, since money had a way of falling in her lap she doubted she would be in the poor house for long.

When the airlock released them Bailey stood to greet them and let them know he would be escorting the couple to the Academy. She told Bailey she'd bring them right back. She took Rojik and Solana's arms and led them to the elevator. A few floors up the elevator opened and she led them to one of four doors. She hugged the couple close and handed Rojik the key and motioned for him to open the door. They stepped in and looked around the fully furnished home.

"I wasn't sure what you would like. You can change out any of the furnishings that you want. I had them leave a list of the suppliers' names on the kitchen counter. Other than that, I hope you like your new home. It's paid for in full and the first year of taxes and utilities have been covered." She held her breath awaiting a response.

Their eyes grew wide as they looked around.

"This is all ours?" Rojik said in little more than a whisper.

"Shep…you didn't." She looked down at her in awe. When she nodded, Solana hugged her close. She dropped her head and rested against Shepard's… She released her and treated her lifemate to a skortching kiss.

The couple grabbed hands and tore off to explore their new home. Live plants and trees grew up the walls, soothing water trickled over rocks. Two rounded staircases led to an upper floor where the master bedroom and an exercise room were located. The closets in the master bedroom were filled with new clothing for both of them. Clothes for every occasion. There were two bathrooms, one in the master that had a massive hot tub and one down stairs that just had a shower. The kitchen had nearly every appliance imaginable and a connected dining room. Vid screens of various sizes adorned every room. There was an entertainment room with a bar and a billiards table with a library and office connected to it. There was a massive living room in the front. The long hall that led from the main door of their home to its inner sanctum was set up to be used as an electronic firing range like they had on the ship. Complete with a small closet that stored several artificial guns.

Kolyat was floored. The other couple were not aware of the massive amounts of money their new home cost, but he'd been on the Citadel for some time and could hazard a pretty good estimate. The lower levels were immensely expensive and only purchasable to dignitaries, ambassadors and other top ranking officials.

"How?" Was all Kolyat could say.

"My family lived on Mindior and yes, it was only a farming community. But my parents...owned the place. They were, um...Mindoir's monarchs." She admitted quietly. "The family wealth was immense. I've never touched it until now. I never had to. I was incredibly wealthy in my own right. Money just falls in my lap," she said with a shrug. "I would have bought us one too…but we rarely leave the ship." She paused a moment and wrapped her arms around him. "Someday I want us to have a home of our own."

Kolyat looked at her in utter shock, then dropped to a knee and bowed his head. She fell to her knees in front of him and pulled up on his chin so she could see his face. "Don't ever do that to me. I took great pains so the Alliance would never find out who I was. No one outside of Mindoir knows of my status anymore. I'd like it to remain that way. Mindoir, as I knew it, is gone. My family and friends are gone. I helped Mindoir rebuild itself, but I am an absent ruler. I do my duty by them, but I haven't been back for a long time. This is my life now. And what I'm doing is far more important than anything I've ever done. I love you, and I do not want anything to change between us."

"But you are a Queen...royalty." Ice ran in Kolyat's veins.

"And were we on Mindoir, that would mean something. And you would be my king. You would be considered royalty too. We are and always have been equals."

"I would be King consort," Kolyat corrected her.

Shepard shook her head. "You would be whatever I decreed you to be, but it is a moot point. We are not on Mindoir and I would rather the galaxy not remember who I was. In my heart the royal line died out on Mindoir a long time ago. I will still do my duty to my people in absentia, and maybe...if the galaxy ever stops needing its ass pulled out of the fire, maybe I can retire and we can return to that life...or perhaps our children will choose to, but for now it must remain in the past, forgotten by all." She pulled him up. "You are my husband, my equal. I love you. End of story," she said with finality.

When the other couple returned, excitement danced in their eyes.

"Spirits, Shep…you've thought of everything! The kitchen is even filled with levo and dextro foods. Think of the entertaining we could do!" Then she looked uncertain. "You don't mind if I call you Shep, do you?" She asked a little worried.

"Of course not! Shep or sis is just fine with me."

"Sis…I like that. Sis it is." She said her mandibles spreading wide.

"I've left any artwork desired up to you. There is money in an account for you, just comm the designer listed on the counter and he will set you up."

"Tour's over. Let's get your two asses down to Bailey before he thinks I kidnapped you."

Solana ran and grabbed the second key card from the counter and pocketed it. "Promise me if you are ever on the Citadel that you will stay with us. We won't take no as an answer."

"You got it, Solana."

When they got back down to Bailey's desk, they made their tearful goodbyes and she watched them walk away with a heavy heart. She already missed them terribly. Her husband hugged her close until she was able to rein in her pregnancy intensified emotions.

Hand in hand the pair walked back to the Normandy…each deep in their own thoughts.

*******The funeral portion was very hard for me to write. I cried my way through the whole thing.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 18

The Rounds

Shepard had always made herself available to her crew. She made rounds once or twice a day to check in on everyone. Her first stop would be to check on their newest crew member Kasumi, she was eager to get the chance to know her a bit better.

Kasumi greeted her warmly and they had a nice chat. She never said a whole lot about herself, nothing deep anyway, but she did have a lot of observations about the crew. Some of which were amusing and some more intuitive. Shepard was eventually able to get her to open up enough to tell her about Kasumi's earlier days as a thief. How she'd always leave a rose in place of whatever she stole, like a calling card. It wasn't until she met Kaiji that she realized she was just being sentimental.

Her next stop was to Gardner to make sure the ingredients and food stores she purchased for him had been delivered. He assured her the delivery was made and he'd already started using them. He even encouraged her to take a bite of his calamari gumbo. Surprisingly enough it was pretty good. She couldn't wait for dinner. She thanked him and headed off to see Miranda.

"Shepard, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to ask for your help." Miranda said self-consciously.

"I'm always here to talk. What's the matter, Miranda?" Shepard asked.

Miranda jumped up from her desk and started pacing. "I have a genetic twin…my sister. When I was growing up I realized my father didn't want a daughter, that he only wanted a thing he could manipulate and control. I didn't have a life Shepard. I was his…lab rat…his project. When I eventually got tired of it I left. I took my sister with me. I didn't want her to live the hell I did. She deserved better. I gave her to a family who has loved her ever since. Cerberus has kept them hidden up until now. But, somehow, I think he's found her. Cerberus is going to move them again and I want to be there when they do, to make sure nothing goes wrong. I owe it to my sister." Miranda said passionately.

"We'll help your sister Miranda. When will this move take place?"

"I don't know the details yet, Shepard. I'll fill you in when I do…and thank you." Miranda said, returning to her desk. Shepard headed out to check on Samara.

When she walked in Samara was in her usual spot meditating on the floor in front of the huge observation window.

"I'm glad I joined with your crew Shepard. It's been a long time since I've had the chance to enjoy the company of others. When the time comes, I'll do whatever is necessary."

"You're an important part of the crew, Samara." Shepard assured her.

"That is nice to hear." Samara got up and walked to the window. "There is something I would like to discuss with you. When we met on Illium I had been tracking a dangerous fugitive. With the information you provided me I have discovered that she is going by the name Morinth. I would like to apprehend her before she disappears again."

"Where is she?" Asked Shepard.

"Omega. At a nightclub called Afterlife – a perfect, albeit ironic, place for her to hunt."

"What is her crime?"

"She is an Ardat-Yakshi, it is an old asari dialect that means demon of the night winds…but, that is just mythology. She is simply a very dangerous woman that kills without mercy. When she mates with you there is no gentle melding of nervous systems, instead she overpowers yours, burns it out, hemorrhaging your brain, leaving you a mindless shell that will soon perish. With every kill her strength grows as does the need to kill again. She is very manipulative and very intelligent. She's hunted sapient beings for centuries." Samara explained.

"I won't let that continue," said Shepard. "I will get us to Omega when I can."

"Thank you, Shepard. It means a lot to me. There is, however, something you should know. This…monster…is my daughter."

Samara explained that all three of her daughters were Ardat-Yakshi, but that two chose to live in seclusion. Morinth, however was always the wild one – she was happy and free…but selfish.

She felt bad for Samara. But she knew there was nothing she could say that could aid her friend. So she simply nodded and told her she'd be here for her if she ever needed to talk.

She headed out of the observation lounge to drop in on doctor Chakwas.

"What can I do for you commander?" The doctor asked.

"I've got a present for you."

"Serrice Ice Brandy? You didn't!...You know I always regretted not opening the other bottle when I could…I don't want to make that mistake again. So, what do you say…you and me and this bottle right now?" Chakwas said with a bright smile and excitement in her voice.

Shepard smiled back. She was certainly not one to disappoint her friend. "Ok…I'll grab the glasses, you open the bottle." Chakwas grateful smile lit up the room.

It was enjoyable taking time to sit down with the mother of her heart.

"Have another drink." Chakwas said as she poured another round.

"With you as my mother and David as my father, I'm the luckiest woman alive!" They toasted another round.

They reminisced about old times, old friends, and good booze. They even made a toast to being happily drunk…a few more laughs and doc passed out on her. She helped Karin onto a table, rather surprised they both didn't end up sprawled on the floor and made her way back to her cabin.

While his wife was making her daily rounds, Kolyat headed back to their cabin. He noticed their closet wasn't closed all the way and he wondered what had prevented it from doing so. He opened it up and sucked in his breath. His side of the closet was stuffed full of clothing. Clothing in his size. A tux, suits, slacks, shirts, workout clothes, various drell shirts made of soft material, various types of shoes, and even a few more leather suits. He had never owned so many things. He had always traveled light. It seemed his wife would never stop amazing him…surprising him.

Kolyat looked up as his wife stumbled into their cabin. He leapt over to assist her. She grabbed onto his shoulders. "Hi husband…where's Garrus?"

He looked around the room. He couldn't feel Garrus. "I don't know where he is, ange." He answered patiently, even if it hurt.

"He was supposed to meet me in the starboard observation lounge, it is our special place." She said with a frown.

"I'm sorry, ange…those are Samara's quarters right now." He reminded her. He didn't have the heart to remind her that Garrus had died.

"Well, that would have made things awkward. " She slurred.

"It most certainly would have, ange." He closed his eyes to try to keep the pain at bay. He knew she didn't know what she was saying, but it hurt nonetheless.

She started to remove his jacket. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" she asked him as she dropped the jacket on the floor.

Kolyat blinked. He was a man, he wasn't beautiful.

"Do you know how sexy it is when you blink both sets of eyelids?" She ran her fingers across his eyebrow ridge. "Your eyes are so dark, so large, so beautiful." She said stumbling against him. "And then you do the double blink my heart puddles at your feet. Did you know that Kol?"

"No wife. I didn't know that. I'll remember to keep a bucket handy." He said with a tender smile.

She slapped his chest and then ran her hand down it. "You have beautiful scales like your father. But blue. They are so soft to the touch, they shimmer in the light…it's truly breathtaking. I wish I had your beautiful scales. I just want to touch them all the time." She ran her hand down his chest again. "Can I touch them?" She asked while she continued to touch them.

"Of course, ange. I like it when you touch me."

"Do you wish I had beautiful blue scales too, Kol?"

"No, wife. You are beautiful just the way you are."

She began to knead the muscles on his chest. "Your muscles are so hard, so resilient, so beautiful. You are built like a god, husband…did you know that?"

"No, ange...I didn't know that." She thought he looked like a God? The thought that she could be so pleased with him warmed his heart.

She ran her hand along the ridges of his abdomen. "The way your muscles move and jump. See how they move when I touch them husband? It's like they are flowing…so beautiful to see, so sexy to touch."

She circled her arms around him and ran her hands down his back. "You have a very sexy back. Your muscles ripple with every movement and I need to touch them, to feel them move under my hand." She said, caressing his back. His muscles danced under her fingers.

"When I see you naked it is hard to keep myself from touching you." She ran her hands lower, caressing his ass, feeling its shape. "Your ass is so tight, so perfect; I just want to look at it all day." She sighed and frowned. "But, I would never have the patience for that because the need to touch it is too strong. Can I touch your ass husband?" She asked as she rubbed and squeezed his rear.

"Yes, ange," he said thickly. Unsure just how many more of her drunken declarations he could take.

She ran her hands around the band of his pants to the front. He grunted when she unfastened them. They fell to the floor at his ankles and he kicked them away. There was no hiding what she had done to him.

She dropped to her knees in front of him and ran her hands down his thighs. "This too is very beautiful." She paused a moment. "When I was young my friends and I would watch naughty vids," she whispered and flushed. "But you are more beautiful than any human." She cupped his testicles in her hand and gently rolled them. "I love how they are tighter than a human's...humans' can be so…saggy." She released his testicles and ran her fingers over him. "You are so much thicker than a human…it scared me at first, but you fill me so full," she said wrapping her hand as far around his shaft as she could and gave it a gentle squeeze. His hips bucked against her and she giggled. "When these ribs get so filled with blood that they swell, I could come from the pleasure they give me." She said as she ran her hand down the length of him. "Can I touch your beautiful, red staff, husband?"

"No," he squeaked and then cleared his throat. He reached down for his wife and pulled her into his arms.

"Why not Kol? I thought you liked it when I touched you? I was just about to use my mouth; don't you like it when I do that?" She slurred and stumbled against him.

Kolyat groaned, his shaft swelling more. "I like it very much and you have already been touching me...a lot. If you keep touching me I'll come."

"Oh," she giggled. "I want to come. Can I come too?"

"Gods yes, ange," he chuckled. "You _will_ come." He said as he peeled the dress off her body. He ran his hands down her back and then over her belly to her breasts. He caressed them both, running his thumbs across her nipples. Watching them harden. He pushed her breasts together and suckled one and then the other. He slid his left hand behind her head and brought her mouth to his for fiery kiss. His mouth slanted over hers, the taste of brandy sweet on her tongue.

His right hand skimmed down her belly and through the tight curls to her hidden nub. Her folds already wet and ready. Her hips jerked against his hand and she cried out. He swung her up into his arms and carried her to their bed.

She cradled him between her legs as he slowly entered her. She was so hot, so tight, so wet…he gritted his teeth until he was fully seated within her. When she nodded he pulled back and slammed into her. Long, deep strokes followed by fast, grinding strokes. He felt himself swell, his wife cried out in pleasure. His hips moved faster. Shepard's body arched up, strung tight, as he ground himself against her. Her hips bucked against him and she cried out as her orgasm shook her. When he felt her small muscles squeezing him, he arched back and yelled out as his own release took him. He shivered when he felt his wife's bite.

He rolled them gently onto their sides so that they could ride out the tie without his weight hurting her. He hugged her close and placed a kiss upon her sweaty brow. "I love you, Mrs. Krios." He heard a soft snore and chuckled. Her muscles continued to squeeze him, but the aftershocks were his to savor alone this time.

She woke up to a hand stroking her breasts; he rolled her over and sucked the peak into his mouth. He worked his way slowly up to her mouth. He ran his tongue along her upper lip, he gently pulled on her lower lip, his tongue darted into her mouth. He brought his hand up to hold her in place and he gave her a long, thorough kiss.

When they made their way out of bed she commed joker and had him set a course for Haestrom. She had a bad feeling…and it tended to bode ill if she ignored them. They had a quick shower and headed down to the mess for a bite to eat.

After breakfast they headed down to the rec room. Her eyes went to her fish aquarium along the far wall, then she glanced up, her model ships dangling from the ceiling (she wasn't sure whose idea that was) and couldn't stop the laugh.

Kolyat led her over to the mats and helped her with her stretches. She moved onto the beam while he worked over a practice dummy. His eyes kept going back to his wife. When she began her routine on the uneven bars, he gave up the pretense all together and watched her flow around the bars. When she flipped off the bar, he wrapped the towel around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She led him to the beam and began working with him on balance and agility. They'd been working on his beam work for awhile now. He wasn't a gymnast...didn't want to be, but he did want to be the best he could be...Balance and agility were important. He took to it quickly. His drell genes gave him an advantage, and to keep up with her he needed every advantage he could get. He flipped off the beam, walked over to the equipment cabinet and tossed her a set of microfoam guards. They bowed to each other over the mats and fell back into a stance. Sparring with his wife was something he looked forward to. He could never get a bead on her. Her improvising kept him on his toes.

They were able to get a lot of practice in, at least most days, before the sparring took a more sexual turn…and it always took a more sexual turn. Usually they were able to make it back to the cabin before the clothes went flying…though there were a few times they didn't make it out of the rec room and she had to tell EDI to seal the door…then there _were_ those times in the elevator…

As they were making their way back to the cabin at a near run, Joker commed them to let them know they had pulled out of FTL and would be at Haestrom momentarily. Damn! She told EDI to have her squad assemble in the armory. "Guess fun's been put on hold, let's go suit up."

When she walked into the armory, she noticed right away that the auras of most of her crew were agitated, swirling faster and more frantic than normal. "Thank you for coming down here. I should have realized that most of you have other things on your mind right now that are…distracting you. We will attend to those issues as soon as possible. Kolyat…Legion you'll accompany me, be ready in 10. Dismissed." Kolyat was stoked. He'd never been on a mission with her. That she felt he was ready made his heart sing. He stayed quietly in the back of the room. Legs spread, shoulders straight, hands behind his back. He forced himself to remain calm, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Shepard approached Jacob. "Jacob I noticed your aura is off kilter too. Would you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Is it classified or extremely personal?" She asked when she caught the look he shot in Kolyat's direction.

"No…or if it is, it's not anymore. I got pinged by a ghost the other night. My private log had an update about the Hugo Gernsback, the ship my father served on. It sent out an SOS last week requesting rescue. Shepard that ship went missing 10 years ago. I haven't talked to my father since three years before that…he was never really a part of my life, he was gone a lot. I've buried everything but a body." He paused for a moment. "I also want to note that this was passed to my personal log through Cerberus filters." Jacob informed her.

Kolyat walked up to the pair. "That's a long time to wait to signal a distress beacon."

"I know," said Jacob, "it doesn't make any sense…and I'd hate to be wasting our time with a goose chase."

"Program the coordinates into the galaxy map. We'll check it out when we can."

"I appreciate that Commander. I don't expect anything but dusty old bones, but it will be good to close the record."

She nodded to Jacob. "I should go." She headed for the airlock with Kolyat in tow.

"It seems you are always in high demand, ange."

"That does seem to be the story of my life." She said with a chuckle.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I need to be with you, ange...to protect you and our babies." He said quietly.

"It will not always be like this, Kol. If someone else's aura shined brighter…I would have taken them." She saw hurt and a flash of anger. "I'm sorry, Kol. Aura's don't lie. If you weren't feeling your best, if you were worried about something…disconnected, it would show in your aura and you would not be the safest person to take with me on the mission. The mission and the safety of the squad must come before personal inclination." She took his hand in hers. "I want you at my side always. You will always be my _first_ choice, but there may be days where your aura doesn't agree. I hope you can understand."

"I understand, ange…but I don't like it. I _need_ to protect you, you're my lifemate." He said adamantly.

"I know you do, Kol." She said giving him a quick kiss before continuing to the airlock. She knew it would be hard for him. Even though she didn't need protection, the need to give it was burned deep in him… because she _was_ his lifemate.

They caught up with Legion at the airlock and headed out.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 19

Haestrom

During the shuttle ride EDI informed them that Tali was somewhere in the ruins on Haestrom and that it was overrun by Geth. She also warned them there was an environmental hazard…direct sunlight would fry their shields. Good to know, she thought. Hopefully, there will be a lot of shade. She hadn't counted on the Geth. Perhaps it was fortuitous that everyone else was so messed up that she had to take Legion. That wasn't exactly fair…she liked taking Legion with her…it was just hard to ignore the auras, if they screamed loud enough she listened.

As Shepard jumped from the shuttle and landed on Haestrom, a wave of heat overwhelmed her.

"You like it arid…don't you Kol?" She asked, poking fun at him.

"Arid…yes. Being baked alive…I can do without." He smirked.

They watched a bug crawl into a patch of light and fry.

She did her best Garrus impression. "I hear those are pretty tasty fried."

Kolyat held his hand out towards the unfortunate insect, "I will if you will."

She shivered at the repugnant thought. Maybe she's not so good at being Garrus, he might have eaten the damn thing. Kolyat laughed at her look of horror.

They made their way down a long ramp. Her shields nearly gave out twice.

"Heat is degrading shield performance." Legion stated.

Way to state to obvious buddy, she thought. Damn me. If she could slap herself without looking silly she would. She hadn't meant to have rude thoughts…the heat was just getting to her. She was just thankful she hadn't snarked out loud.

She flipped on her omni-tool and adjusted the automatic temp controls of her armor…she preferred cooler temps to warmer. As the interior of her armor cooled, she sighed in pleasure.

Kolyat gave her a droll look.

"What?" She asked sweetly. "I don't like to sweat."

Kolyat cocked an eyeridge at her. "Is that so, ange? I believe I know otherwise –"

"Kol!" She interrupted, her cheeks flushing.

He shot her an innocent look and raised his hands in submission.

At the bottom of the ramp was a large locked metal door. To the right was another entrance. Inside she discovered a dead quarian that had left a final message. He warned them of the geth, how he had stayed behind, and that finding Tali'Zora and the data was all that mattered. She pilfered some credits out of the med-kit and pulled some salvage from a downed geth. When she spotted the console, she used it to open the main doors to the compound.

As they entered the main compound, they heard the warbling of geth and readied their guns. She made commands with her hands ordering them forward while she was going to skirt around the side and flank them. Kolyat shot her a hard look and shook his head. She pointed to her omni-tool; they synced them and left the channel open. She gave Kolyat a kiss for luck. When she again ordered them forward he gave her a long look and then nodded.

"Geth drop ship!" Kolyat yelled out before she was able to get more than a few feet away. They ducked behind available cover as geth began to rain from the ship.

Legion hacked one of the geth and stated, "Automated flight weaponry," when he deployed an attack drone.

Shepard threw out a shockwave towards a tightly bunched of entrenched geth. They were flung into the air and she and Kolyat peppered them with warp bombs and bullets, while the drone continued to zap any unlucky geth it could find.

When the first batch was dispatched she directed them forward and she headed up the ramp on the right. Her shields were falling fast and she was forced to duck behind the first container she found. Too far away for biotics to work well or her Mattock, so she snapped her Mattock to her back and grabbed her Viper.

She took out 5 geth with her Viper before they even knew she was there. They were too occupied firing at her squadmates. She moved up to the next container and took out three more. They soon discovered she appeared to be the deadlier threat. They turned their focus on her and she dodged bullets as she maneuvered her way up to the next container. Before she had made it to the next cover her shields fell and a bullet passed through her armor and into her chest. Damn, that hurt. Must have been a hell of a gun to make it past her armor.

"Ange, hold tight - I'm coming!" Kolyat yelled.

"No! I'm ok…just a nick…stay in cover. I've nearly taken out everything up here." She said calmly as she could.

Kolyat could hear the strain in her voice. Did she honestly think he would stay away if she was hurt? He told Legion to cover his six and headed up a ramp on the right further down than his wife had taken. There were three geth at the top of the ramp. He threw out a wave, knocked the geth against the wall and then took them down with his incisor. Then he turned his sights on the remaining geth that was focusing on his wife. It was flung back by the power of the shot, it's head pin-wheeled over a container landing near his wife.

He watched her give the head a vicious kick before falling back against the half-wall. His heart slammed in his chest as he made his way to her, passing nearly a dozen downed geth. He could see her blood pouring down the armor and splattering around her. He was not as devout as his father, but sent a prayer to Arashu to protect her.

"My shields fried," she said weakly.

"I know, ange…it will be ok." He told her, and prayed again that it would be. He kneeled beside her and helped her remove her armored chest-plate. He ripped her under-suit at the seam until if fell away enough for his to see the damage. The wound was below her left collar bone, but in her shoulder. It was bleeding hard. He turned on his omni-tool to give her a dose of medi-gel.

"No! Kol." She gasped. "If you give me medi-gel, I will heal faster, but with the bullet still in me. I need to get rid of it…my body will expel it eventually. I'm going to need you to put your fingers in the wound and stretch it a bit, so it doesn't heal before the bullet is out." She said weakly.

Kolyat's mouth dropped open. He shook his head. "Damn it wife…you don't have time for eventually." He said angrily. He saw her amp her power and it fizzled out. She tried again, but again it fizzled. He peeled off his glove and placed his hand on her neck. She panted a few times and then gathered her power again. She closed her eyes and moved her hand away from her body slowly, moving it a little left or right or up and down as it continued away from her. Then she stopped a moment and jerked her hand forward. Her eyes flew open and she screamed out as the bullet went flying out of her chest. A wave of fresh blood gushed from the wound and Kolyat quickly gave her a dose of medi-gel.

"One more dose," she said weakly. "Damn thing was healing too fast, had to tear it out."

He nodded and gave her another dose. He gave her a harsh look when she tried to remove his hand from her neck.

"Kol…I'll be fine in a few minutes. We don't need you weakened as well." She implored.

He looked at her wound and noticed that it had stopped bleeding and was already scabbing over. He nodded to her and retrieved his glove. He would not be leaving her side again this mission. Period. He was still in shock over what he had witnessed. Biiotic waves were generally broad, not precise. What she did with his gun when they first met was impressive enough. But surgically removing a bullet from her own body? The precision that would take is astronomical. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd have never thought it was possible. But, he saw the way her hand moved slowly, directing the bullet away from bone and arteries until it was free enough to pull out. The whirring of synthetic movement shook him out of his thoughts. He grabbed his incisor and ducked out of cover.

Legion held up its hands. "Do not shoot, Krios. This platform is non-combative."

Kolyat hunkered down next to his wife, whose color was returning to a more normal shade.

"Has Shepard Commander's platform been damaged?" Legion inquired.

"Yes, Legion, but she is recovering." Kolyat said in relief.

"I'm fine you two. Help me on with my armor." She said.

While Kolyat helped her with her armor Legion looked around to evaluate the battle field. "Resistance appears to have been heavy up here. Shepard Commander took out a lot of hostile platforms."

"It wasn't all that impressive. I took down five before they even knew I was there. Three more fell before they gave me much notice. Only then did they take me seriously."

Kolyat shook his head in disbelief. If she didn't consider that impressive, what did it take to impress his wife? He flushed…his thoughts went in a very inappropriate direction.

"Krios…is your platform malfunctioning? Legion asked "It appears to be overheating and -"

"Legion!" Kolyat interrupted quickly before he could be embarrassed further. "I'm fine."

When she was back on her feet they headed down the far ramp that Kolyat and Legion had used.

At the bottom of the ramp she grabbed some Iridium and then headed for a large door. It was locked. They headed to the right to find another way in. They took down two geth and rounded a far corner, where three geth were standing over a dead quarian. Kolyat threw two against the wall; Shepard zapped them with an energy drain charge and then sent in a warp bomb. Legion took out the third.

She salvaged a geth trooper and picked up a Tempest smg. A radio transmission sent her in the direction of a second downed quarian.

"The geth sent a drop ship towards Op 2, Tali'Zorah's secure, but we need back up…Break…break… break…Op 1 this is squad leader Kal'Reegar, do you copy? We're bunkered up here, can you send support?... Op 1 this is squad leader Kal'Reegar, come in, over."

Shepard picked up the radio. "This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy, can we provide assistance?"

"Patch your radio into Channel 617 Theta. We were on a stealth mission. We found what we were after, but the geth found us." Kal'Reegar said. "We are pinned down and can't get a transmission through the solar radiation."

"What's the status of your team?" Shepard asked.

"We had a dozen marines plus the science team. We're down to half strength now. But, we made the synthetic bastards pay for it." Kal'Reegar said with satisfaction.

"What brought you so far into geth controlled space?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I don't know Shepard, I only point and shoot. Something about the sun going bad faster than it should. We'd hoped going low-emissions would hide us... It didn't work out as planned."

"What's your position?"

"We're hunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali'Zorah at a secure shelter and doubled back to hold the chokepoint. Getting Tali'Zorah and the data out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you." Replied Kal'Reegar.

"Hold your position…we'll - "

"Wait!" Kal'Reeger shouted. "Watch your ass! We've got a geth dropship coming in!"

Shepard looked out across the way and saw a dropship fly in and take out a group of quarian marines. Shit! Shepard jumped down to the floor below to check for survivors. A massive column fell down in front of the doorway, crushing the quarians beneath it.

"There's some demo charges in the buildings nearby. You can use them to clear the path." Kal'Reegar informed them. "They're coming in through the side; I've got to fall back."

"Shepard I have scanned the area and located the demolition charges. You will need both sets of charges to clear the rubble. Uploading it to your radar." EDI said.

"Thank you EDI." Shepard replied.

They took out three geth and headed down a small ramp. They were going to hit the building on the left first. When they got close enough geth started pouring out of the building. They got behind cover and pulled their snipers. She missed Garrus' notch counting at times like this. He always loved to see who could take down the most. Legion's drone took down one hiding in a back doorway. She loved that little drone..and wished like mad she could have one of her own…

When they entered the building she ran up the back steps to make sure it was clear of geth. She grabbed a medi-gel from the station. Back down the stairs she rounded a back corner and found more medi-gel…good; she'd replenished what she used. She grabbed the charge and turned to leave. Geth were dropping in. She signaled them to cover and took point.

When they cleared those out, she sent Legion up a ramp to a higher level and she took Kolyat with her to hit the bottom floor. She preferred to be the one going solo, but she knew he would follow her regardless of her orders…and right now she didn't blame him.

Shepard focused on firing drain charges, Kolyat fired warp bombs and they ended with a haze of bullets. She was still too drained to rely on her biotics. When the Geth ceased attacking, she headed up the ramp to Legion, who had informed of a log entry she might wish to view.

The log entry was a notation from Tali, stating that the sun was stable a few hundred years ago and that stars don't die that quickly. She darted across the sun fried bridge and ran down the back stairs. They came out in the atrium below where she and Kolyat had fought. She ran into the back building, grabbed some more medi-gel, a heavy weapon cell and the demo charge.

More geth greeted them on the way out. They certainly weren't trying to make this very easy. She didn't order the men to stay in the center, but she ducked up the passage on the left while Thane was in front of her. She felt bad sneaking…but a girl had to do…

She darted up the stairs and slapped the pad to open the shutters, so that she could fire on the geth below.

"Ange!" Kolyat roared out.

Oops…she didn't think she'd ever heard him that mad before. She was on high ground and practically safe from gunfire. A rocket flew by her head and slammed into the wall behind her, sending shrapnel flying. Damn the man for distracting her. She wiped the blood from her cheek. She hoped she that healed before he came storming up the steps behind her.

She rained drain charges down on the geth while she sniped them from her perch. When no more geth made their way down the lower ramp, she snapped her gun to her back and decided it was time to go face the music. She turned around and there he was. Beautiful, blue and bristling with anger.

He stormed up to her grabbed her shoulders and slammed her up against the wall beside the lookout window. Before her head could snap against the wall, his hand was there to protect it.

"What the hell were you thinking5ty?" He asked shaking with anger.

"I remembered the lookout room and knew it was the perfect ambush spot. Besides, I was nearly practically safe up here." She said calmly.

Kolyat looked back at the burnt crater left by the rocket. "Nearly, practically safe…so I see wife." He gritted out. "I know it was a good ambush location…I was going to suggest we get up there, but the gunfire was too heavy. Why the hell did you sneak off without telling me?"

"Sneak is such a duplicitous word husband. I just took an opportunity when it presented itself. You were under heavy fire husband; I didn't want to distract you. I did want to get up here and save your ass though…I like that ass too much to see it get marred. Though, a small bruise might be acceptable, I could kiss that better…" She said, her voice becoming sultry over the last sentence.

Kolyat swore under his breath. "That's not going to work this time, ange."

"That's too bad husband…maybe you'd prefer it if I kissed something else?" She asked seductively.

"You are not going to manipulate your way out of this." He said giving her a hard look.

Well, that was a challenge she couldn't refuse. "It is not my fault that I get wet every time I look at you…that I want to feel you deep inside of me. Do you think I enjoy walking around wet and horny all the time? There are times that I think about you and I actually come because I can't control myself. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be walking down a hallway when an orgasm hits just because I can't stop thinking about my hus - "

Kolyat's mouth slanted over hers…full of anger…hunger…need. Their tongues clashed, dueled, parried for control. She wrapped her arms around him, sighed into his mouth and gave in to him. His kiss gentled and his hips rocked into her. She groaned…damn armor. She wanted to feel his hardness against her.

"Is Shepard Commander ok? Is her platform in need of CPR?" Legion asked as he came up behind them.

Kolyat groaned and released her. "No, Legion…I was kissing my wife."

"I do not understand organics. That is an inefficient mode of communication." Legion said.

Shepard laughed. "I happen to find it a _very_ efficient way to communicate...and a very fun one."

Kolyat looked at his wife and placed a hand on her cheek, gently touching the new mark. "Please don't do that again. You could have died today, ange. I needed to be with you …I _needed_ to, and you took that away from me."

Shepard brushed her lips lightly against his. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Kol. I can't promise that I won't ever worry you…it's a hazard of the job, but I _will_ talk to you.

Kolyat nodded, he knew he would not get more from her. He took her hand in his and they ran across the fiery bridge and down the ramp on the other side. They made their way over to the downed column. She placed the charges and they dashed for cover. Kolyat wrapped his arms around her and leaned over her as debris and ash rained over them. When it settled they stood, she shook the dust out of her hair and smiled at him. Even covered in grime and wearing armor she was the most stunning woman he'd ever seen.

As she walked through the column she frowned. "Had I known there was this much room on the other side I'd have just raised us over it."

"All of us?" Kolyat asked.

She garnered her power and raised her hands; the three of them rose about a foot off the ground. Sweat broke out on her forehead; she gasped and lowered her hands. "Ok, maybe not yet. I'm still too drained." She said sheepishly.

"Are your biotics offline?" Kolyat asked quietly.

She nodded. "At least for the most part. I lost a lot of blood. My body is working overtime to replace it, but I don't have much food left in my body to fuel the process."

Kolyat pulled two nutria-bac bars out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Sorry I don't have more, but I hope this will help a little."

She looked at him in surprise. "You carry these around with you?"

Kolyat shrugged. "I'm a biotic, there's always a chance of burn out. So, carrying them became a habit. Something you should be doing, wife."

She looked at the disgusting bars. They tasted like regurgitated cow cud, but they were filled with vitamins, carbs, protein and beneficial bacteria. She bit into it, grimaced, and darn near swallowed it without chewing. So gross. She handed the second bar out to her husband.

Kolyat shook his head and grinned. "You need them wife, not I. Enjoy."

She frowned and gagged down the second bar. She was thirsty as sin, but she was starting to feel better.

She amped her power, flared gold and blue, and let it die. She was nowhere near full power, but at least she didn't feel as weak as before.

Kolyat held his hand out for the wrappers and he put them back into his pockets. They headed though the door and then another a few feet in. When the second door opened a geth crawled straight towards his wife. Kolyat shot it without hesitation.

"Creator architecture. This is the first design to be seen by organic eyes in 297 years." Legion remarked.

Shepard ran up a small ramp and scanned some disassembled geth guns for the technology; pulled some salvage from two downed geth, hacked a safe for some credits, and flipped on a log journal. The entry was from Tali reminiscing about her ancestors that used to walk these halls and wishing Shepard could share it with her.

A holo transmission activated. "Tali'Zorah to base camp, come in base camp…Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Tali, it's Shepard. I'm sorry everyone here is dead…or they've fallen back."

"Damn it." Tali said shaking her head. "We knew this was high risk, but damn it." She looked up at Shepard. "Shepard? I'm not complaining...but, you show up at the strangest times. What are you doing here Shepard, we're in the middle of geth space?"

"I was in the neighborhood…thought you might need a hand."

"Thanks for coming Shepard, it means a lot to hear your voice. Reegar and his marines got me into the observatory. From where you are it's through the door and across the field. I got the data I needed and I'm safe for now. But, there are a lot of geth outside." Tali said earnestly.

"Is anyone else with you or are you alone out there?" Shepard asked concerned.

Kolyat put a hand on her back to give her his support. She had told him of her friends and their adventures on the previous Normandy. He knew how much the quarian meant to her…Tali, he corrected.

Reegar had a team of marines covering me when I ran for the observatory. I know at least some of them are still alive," she said turning her head. "I can hear them firing at the geth outside."

"It looks like somebody sealed the door against the geth and the console is damaged. Can you get it open on your end?" Shepard asked.

"Let me see…yes, I can do it. Here. Should be unlocked now. Be careful Shepard…and please…do what you can to keep Reegar alive." Tali said before signing off.

They went through the door, Shepard grabbed some more medi-gel and headed down the stairs. They turned a sharp corner, walked a small hall and turned right out a doorway into two mechanical recon drones.

"Tactical disadvantage…recommend orbital fire support." Legion stated.

"Can't do that Legion, The ruins are too old…it could bring the walls down upon our heads. I'm rather partial to keeping mine…besides, brain matter in the hair is a big turn off to most men." She said, winking at her husband.

They managed to take down one drone, but the other vanished.

"Heretic drones have employed optical camouflage systems." Legion warned.

Kolyat took cover behind some pipes, Legion at the entryway. She took point and ran up to take cover behind some containers. She pulled out her sniper and concentrated fire on the large geth prime in the background, letting her squad take care of the drones. When it fell, she switched to her Mattock and helped them finish off the drones.

They followed the passageway to the right and more drones dropped down to besiege them. Low and behold another geth prime came out to play. Make my day big fella.

When it fell they headed through the far door. Once in the small room she hacked a wall safe for credits. She noticed a big red 'push-this' button on the wall next to a console. Of course she had to push it. The shutters opened, a large colossus turned and fired at them. They threw themselves on the ground. Kolyat ended up on top of her and for the life of her she was unsure how he managed to do that so often. He gave her a quick kiss and hand up.

They headed through the doorway and down a flight of steps to a quarian with a rocket launcher, who told them to stay down and be careful. When they hunkered down next to him he said, "Squad leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet marines. We talked on the radio before that dropship arrived. You've got a geth right behind you!" He said pointing with his gun.

"We are allied with Shepard. We will fight the geth units in this area." Legion informed him.

"You know…ordinarily that wouldn't fly with me, but I can't afford t be picky right now." Reegar said before a rocket exploded nearby. "Tali's over there. Geth killed the rest of my squad and they are trying to get to her. The best I've been able to do is draw their attention. The geth are near platoon strength, but the colossus is the worst part. It's got a repair protocol. It huddles up and fixes itself. I tried to get in closer, but one of the bastards punched a hole clean through my suit."

"How bad is the damage?" Asked Shepard.

"Combat seals clamped down to isolate contamination and I'm swimming in antibiotics. Geth might get me, but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting."

"We need to get to Tali."

"You move in close and I'll keep the colossus busy with my rocket launcher. Maybe I can get it to drop its shields. With luck, maybe you can finish it off." Reegar explained.

"You've done enough Reegar." Shepard told him.

"I wasn't asking your permission ma'am. I promised to keep Tali safe," Reegar said as he jumped up to let another rocket fly.

I don't think so…thought Shepard. I promised Tali I'd keep him alive. "We don't have enough people for you to take one for the team…Stand Down." Shepard commanded.

"I'm not going to just stand there while you run into enemy fire. They killed my whole squad." Reegar said adamantly.

"If you want to honor your squad, watch my back. I need you here in case they send in reinforcements."

"Alright Shepard, we'll do it your way. Hit them for me. Keelah Se'lai."

Geth started pouring down the middle. She sent so many drain charges at the geth she feared she'd burn out her omni-tool. She felt stronger, but was afraid using her biotics would drain her too fast. Kolyat rained warp bombs and bullets. Legion hacked those he could and used his Widow on those he couldn't . The drone proved a wonderful asset as always. She wondered if Legion would mind if she stole the little drone from him. That probably wouldn't go over so well in the sake of friendship, she thought. Perhaps she'd take some engineering classes later…if the galaxy ever stopped needing its ass pulled out of the fire.

She had a geth in the cross-hairs when bullets from the left tore into her shields, taking them down. Kolyat blew the head off the attacking geth. Shepard amped her power, ready to charge the geth she had sighted on. A blast of energy sent her head over arse into Reegar, who caught her and steadied her. She threw a ferocious look at Kolyat, who was still glowing from the wave he'd sent at her. "You did not just do that!" He completely ignored her, his focus on the enemy. Smart man.

"Keelah…I'm glad I didn't do that. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes later." Reegar said in shock.

"Shepard Commander's platform is overheating." Legion turned to Shepard, cocked his head and flapped his face plates. "Shepard Commander, do you need a system reboot?"

"I'd like to do something with a boot all right…" She growled. "I'm fine, Legion…thank you."

Reegar laughed nervously. Kolyat wisely continued to ignore her.

When the middle was cleared out some she signaled to Kolyat that she was heading up the right ramp. At the top of the ramp she skirted the first container and ducked behind the second. A wave up geth swept onto the opposite end of the sniper perch from her. Damn. She gathered her power and shot out a singularity and detonated it with a warp bomb. Geth went flying, but she got dizzy. She shook her head to try to clear it. There were two large, red geth destroyers heading right at her…they merged together into one after another shake of her head. She hit it with a drain charge and drew her viper. More bullets peppered it from behind her. She scooted closer to the half-wall so Kolyat could take cover next to her. Between the two of them, the destroyer went down quickly.

"Are you okay, ange?" He asked concerned.

"I'm fine." She said. "I really am," she said, amping her power to assure him when she saw his dubious glance. He nodded and they made their way to the other side. She pulled out her Arc Cannon. Bloody colossus took eight charges before it fell. As they headed down the ramp Legion and his drone came up a ramp from the lower floor.

Tali commed asking them to give her a minute and she'll get the door unlocked for them. While she was waiting she located some more power cells she could use for her Arc Projector.

The door slid open. As soon as Tali finished with her upload, she turned to greet Shepard and saw the geth, she whipped out her gun and started firing at it. Legion ducked behind a large crate.

"Allied fire…taking cover… Requesting your assistance Shepard Commander." Legion demanded.

Shepard garnered a little power and drew her hand to the side. Tali's arm followed suit. The gun went wide. "Tali…stand down, Legion's with me."

"How does that _geth_ know your name?" Tali asked crossly, and then added, "_It_ has a name?"

"He's not like Saren's geth. He doesn't worship the Reapers and he wants to stop the geth who do." Shepard explained to her.

" _It _Shepard…not he." Tali pointed out. "So, it's just one of the friendly geth that drove my people from their home world."

"The creators attacked. We did not wish to be exterminated. We do not intend physical harm to the Creators at this time." Legion stated.

"Fine. We can talk about this later, Shepard…in private." Tali scoffed. "This whole mission has been a disaster. I wish I could have joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky."

"A lot of quarians lost their lives here, was the data worth it?" Shepard asked.

"The admiralty board believed the information here was worth sacrificing all our lives for. That damn data better be worth it. The price was too high." Tali admitted.

"I'm just glad you were kept safe. Once you deliver that data, we could sure use you on the Normandy."

"The mission is complete. I'll send them the data and join you. If the admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die." Tali said in disgust.

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team...ma'am." Reegar said as he limped into the room.

"Reegar you made it" Tali said softly.

"Your old captain's as good as you said. The damn colossus didn't stand a chance." Reegar said with respect.

Reegar said he'd let the admirals know what happened.

Once back aboard the Normandy Tali met Jacob, they didn't exactly hit it off. She had to give Jacob credit for trying, but there's only so many times your face can be smacked before you smack back. The parting jab about Tali getting to know EDI, the ship's AI was priceless. She absolutely understood Tali's bitterness…but funny was funny. She showed Tali to her quarters and then set off with a determined stride to thrash her husband.

When she walked into her cabin, she stormed down the steps and stopped cold. There was a huge platter of food waiting on the table. Coffee, wine and a single exotic purple flower. She could smell vanilla spice and knew he'd run a bath for her…and there he was, clad only in a pair of soft pants, sprawled on the sofa asleep. He was catering to her every weakness. Damn the man. Wait a minute…Kolyat was a light sleeper…he'd have woke up the moment the door opened. He had to be faking it.

She walked over to her closet and put up her guns and armor. She made sure to make a little more noise than she usually did, just not so much as to give the game away. Hmmm, she thought, still asleep. She peeled off her undersuit and tossed it down the laundry chute. She reached up and pulled down her jewel box from the top of her closet and removed her navel hoop. She didn't wear jewels under her armor. She picked out a rosegold rose and…oops, she dropped it. Oh dear, she will just have to bend over to pick it up. She bent over slowly and searched the floor with her finger tips. There it is. She stood up and put it on.

Hands slid up her waist and cupped her breasts. He rested his head on her shoulder. "How did you know?," he said thickly as he rolled her nipples between his fingers.

She leaned back against him, feeling him hard against her back. "I don't think I'll tell you…a woman needs her secrets." She said breathlessly and gasped as he spun her around. Her breasts slid over his smooth scales, the feeling against her nipples sent fire through her veins. She rubbed her breasts against him a couple of more times, they both groaned in pleasure and he crushed her to him, hips grinding, lips searing hers. He took her to bed and made love to her with his hands, his mouth, his tongue…his body.

When their heartbeats slowed, she raised her husband's chin and looked him in the eyes. "Don't _ever _do that to me again." She said softly.

"Your shields were down." He said in defense. "If another bullet hit you it might have pierced your armor…or your head."

"I was about to charge. I'm invulnerable in charge and the charge itself replenishes my shields." She said firmly.

"I'm unfamiliar with the technicalities of charging. I never learned how to do it." He said quietly.

"Well, now you know. If you want to learn to charge, we can work on it together."

Kolyat nodded. If he could learn to charge, he would be able to get to her side more quickly, protect her better. "I apologize if you feel I overstepped a line today. I cannot promise you I won't protect you, because I _will_ protect you with my life…but I will try not to _over _protect you."

She knew she could not press him for more. She nodded her acceptance and held out her hand as she rolled out of bed. Time for dinner and a bath.

After their various morning workouts and a nice bubble bath, Shepard was mulling over their morning. She had been so impressed with Kolyat. He caught on fast. The first part of their mat session they used to teach him about charging. He learned how to pull in greater amounts of power, how to set his sight and how to release the power…his pull up needed a lot more practice…didn't seem quite so graceful in that regard, which was a rather nice change of pace, though she knew he'd get more control with practice. Thankfully, the walls were padded on the workout side of the room; he'd slammed into them too many times to count. She'd honestly did her best not to laugh at him. She was successful for the most part. Only twice did a small snicker sneak out past her tight lips, but she was pretty sure she was able to hide it under a cough. Well…mostly sure.

The second part of their mat session was the hand to hand moves they were working on. However, she found herself flat on her back far more times than usual. Every time he threw her, he'd send her a wicked smile. It dawned her that perhaps she had not been quite so subtle as she thought she'd been and he was most surely paying her back for it. When they faced off again, she garnered a bit of power, his eyes opened wide, she charged, pulled up, but still hit him with enough force to send them both tumbling to the ground. He flipped them so that he was on top. Perfect. She wrapped her legs around him, grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. That quickly ended their session for the day and the race to the room was on.

Tali settled back into the Normandy quickly. The faces were different, the ship was different, but it was a life she had missed. The downtime between missions gave her a chance to become comfortable with the new ship and crew. She caught up with Tali down in engineering just to make sure she was settling in ok. Tali was actually impressed with the Normandy engineers and the Normandy in general.

"Do you know what happened to Reegar? Is he ok?"

"He actually sent me a message. He was down for about a week, but will make a full recovery. Any time you get a suit puncture, it's a matter of luck. Reegar got out with a relatively minor infection." She said relieved.

Shepard raised her eyebrow…it wasn't the first time Tali's voice got all soft talking about Reeger. Interesting food for thought. She spent some time chatting with her about Thane and how they discovered they were lifemates…how she discovered Garrus was also her lifemate, catching her up on all that had happened. The death of her lifemates, her marriage to Kolyat...the babies.

Tali was happy for them. She was. But the loss of two lifemates. "You've let them go? Moved on?" She saw Shepard's face fall. A deep sadness filled her eyes.

"No," Shepard whispered. She cleared her throat. "No, I've not moved on…more like moved sideways. I…I haven't let them go. I've tried. I have. But, It…I can't. I love them." Shepard admitted, her voice cracking over the last words.

Tali hung her head. "Ooh, that's not good. Does –"

"Does Kolyat know? Yes…yes," she sighed. "He knows."

"But, lifemates…" Tali said, shaking her head.

"I know. Kol's love and the babies have been the only thing keeping me sane. But - the loss...it's like a huge hole in me that can never be filled up. I know it's hard to believe, but they are both here with me, Tali. I'm their lifemate, they are bound to me and cannot leave me. It is, at least, something."

"Doesn't that bother Kolyat?" Asked Tali.

"He says he's okay with it." Shepard said.

"That's not what I asked," Tali pointed out.

"I know." Shepard said helplessly.

"Boshtet." Tali muttered.

"My feelings exactly." Shepard agreed.

"I always thought you and Garrus would be together." Tali admitted.

"Why is that?"

"Because it was so obvious how much you two were in love...You were actually the longest running pool on the ship." Tali chuckled.

"Obvious?" Shepard asked.

Tali tilted her head. "It was not hard to miss the heated looks you gave each other…and Keelah…you should have seen how Garrus acted every time you left him behind. I spent more time in the bathroom those days than any other…it was the only place I knew he wouldn't go." Tali chuckled. "It seems I wasn't the only one with that idea. By the time we got close to Ilos, the bathroom was so packed tight it was hard to move."

"It wasn't so obvious to us." Shepard scoffed.

"True…you both were so oblivious…so stubborn. I nearly locked you together in a room with Chatika on a few occasions. A few heated zaps might have opened your eyes." Tali retorted.

"I wish you had, Tali…I wish you had…I did hear something about that betting pool. You took bets on if we'd get together?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"No…on _when_ you'd get together. It was Joker's idea. It was all kept very hush-hush…I think only you, Garrus and Kaidan didn't know." Tali giggled.

"I'm surprised Joker was able to keep that a secret." Shepard said.

"We all were." Tali admitted.

"I should go. I'm sure Kol will come find me if I don't get something to eat soon. It's good to have you back on board." She said, giving Tali a hug.

"You know where to find me if you want to talk, Shepard." Tali said.

"Ditto." Shepard replied.

She left engineering to make her way up to her cabin. She had a huge appetite and a need to be with her husband.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 20

Zaeed: The Price of Revenge

She had just come back from rounds with her squad. She had decided she was going to do things differently this mission. A feeling came to her that she just couldn't shake. She was not going to ignore it. She knew what she had to do.

"ETA to Zorya 17 minutes."

"Thank you, Joker."

"EDI notify Kolyat, Miranda, Zaeed, Tali and Legion to gear up and meet me at the shuttle in 15." She said as she walked into her empty cabin. She didn't often take Miranda. Having both the CO and XO off the ship at the same time didn't sit well with her. But something told her to bring her and she listened. She missed being greeted by Kolyat, who had until recently spent most of his time in their cabin sorting through her emails and writing up the reports she hated doing. He still did those things for her, but he was finding more things to do with his time, helping out around the ship as needed. He was becoming a bit of a jack-of-all trades. She was happy for him, but missed him too. Though he'd usually seek her out and they'd make a mad dash back to the cabin. He hadn't sought her out today and she was a little miffed.

She slid into an undersuit and was pulling on her armor when he made his way into their cabin.

"I'm glad you are bringing me with, ange. It drives me crazy when you leave me behind." Kolyat said as he helped her put on the rest of her armor and then turned her for a kiss.

"I nearly did." She grumped.

Kolyat cocked an eybrow ridge. "That was rather chilly." He said as he was putting on his armor.

She gave him a hard look.

"I will make amends later." He said, giving his wife a double blink...

A shiver went down her spine as her blood heated. Damn the man. He knew what that did to her. That was one of her non-tactile weaknesses…The double blink. And worse, he could smell her desire. She couldn't hide it from him. She cleared her throat and turned away to snap on her guns.

He smiled triumphantly and snapped his own guns into place. He was uncomfortably hard as stone, because a drawback of smelling her desire was his immediate need to take advantage of it. But he did find that it was the fastest way out of her bad graces…even if he wasn't quite sure how he got into them. It was well worth the discomfort.

They met up with the others at the shuttle. As the pilot took them in they went back over the mission. They needed to save the refinery and free the workers. Shepard got an uneasy feeling. Something wasn't right. Zaeed was keeping something from her and it didn't sit well.

When the shuttle dropped them off they looked around. Zorya, what they could see of it, was a lush, rich jungle planet. The scenery was broken by a tall, smoking refinery building in the background.

"I'm picking up blue suns transmissions. Stay tight and look out for ambushes." Zaeed informed them.

She kissed her husband for luck, since his aura was brightest. They began to track a path that led through the jungle.

"Squad Bravo…a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out." The message was broadcasted over Zaeed's omni-tool. She was thankful he was linked in to their communications. She had Legion hack into it too.

They could make out something obstructing the path in the distance. "Here we go…keep close." Zaeed told them. As they approached they could make out dead bodies. Zaeed looked down disgusted. "Shot in the back and left to rot. That's definitely Vido's style. Let's push ahead."

As they continued pushing down the twisted path, monkey like creatures, which Legion informed them were pyjaks, darted around them…and finally gave a face to one of Wrex's favorite expletives.

"Command to Bravo…take the position. Likely these people are not runaways."

The rocky, tree laden path continued to twist as they advanced.

"Report to Base…armed intruders coming at the southern checkpoint!"

As they rounded the corner bullets started flying at them. She ordered them to fan out and stick to cover. She noted Kolyat remained at her side. Men and their need to protect helpless women. He should know by now that she was not so helpless…

Rockets began joining the bullets. She focused on those. She took one out on a catwalk over head. She charged a merc, sent him flying and ducked behind cover. Kolyat charged a merc coming up on her right that she hadn't seen fast enough. He darted behind her cover gave her a fast kiss and leapt up, blew a hole through the head of an advancing merc. Between the six of them and the two drones, the mercs went down fast. She wove her way through the catwalk girders and picked up a medigel for a med-kit.

"Reinforcements incoming…we got your backs." Thank god for their generous notices. They kept wary and made their way to take cover behind a truck. Mech dogs. Great. She sent energy drain charges at the dog and blew its handler to hell.

The enemy was entrenched behind cover. She raised her hand and lifted several mercs into the air and ducked down as a rocket nearly took her shields. The two drones continued to harass hiding mercs, forcing them out of cover.

"Protocol four deploy for back-up fire!"

Legion's massive gun blew the head and shoulders off a merc launching rockets. His body flew in different directions. That was incredible. She wasn't a fan of single shot guns…but the raw power…damn.

"They're getting torn to shreds out there!"

You bet, sunshine. They were concentrating on the mercs, taking them down in waves. A merc dog had managed to flank them and gave her a solid zap. Shit. She shook it off, flung up her hand and tossed it into a huge boulder. Kolyat put a bullet into it. "Are you okay, ange?"

"Of course…damn things are hard to keep track of…they're so low to the bloody ground." Another rocket launched at them from a catwalk and Legion took him down.

"All squads fall back!"

When no more mercs fired at them they met up at the path's end. Shepard began to extend the bridge.

"This is Commander Santiago. If any of you retreat while the intruders are still alive, I will kill you myself. Now get the hell back out there!"

Zaeed glanced over at her, held his hand up and nodded. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, so she halted the bridge's advancement.

"Vido, it sounds like he hasn't changed."

"I get the feeling you have a past with this Vido?"

"I knew he was a sadistic bastard when we started the blue suns. The suns only got meaner after he staged his coup twenty years ago. So, yeah. We have a past."

"I was unaware you started the blue suns."

"Because it's not common knowledge. Vido wiped me out of the records. He ran the books. I led the men. Worked real well for awhile. The Vido decides to start hiring batarians. Cheaper labor, he said. Goddamn terrorists, I said."

"How did he force you out?"

"He turned my men against me!" He stepped towards her and pointed a finger at her, his voice rising. "He paid six of my men to restrain me!"

"Back off, Zaeed. _Never_ talk to my wife like that." Kolyat said coldly and quietly.

A chill went down Zaeed's spine. He held his hands up and backed away. "Vido blew a hole in my head," he said pointing at the scarred side of his face and blind eye. "He left me to die. For twenty years I've seen that bastard, every time I closed my eyes. Every time I sighted down on a target. Every time I heard a gunshot."

"You survived a gunshot to the head?"

"Yeah. And you survived your ship getting disintegrated. A stubborn enough person can survive just about anything. Rage is a hell of an anesthetic."

She nodded to him. She still didn't like him, but she understood him better. That didn't stop the niggle at the back of her mind. She knew he was still hiding something. "We better get moving." She continued the bridge's extension.

"They're at the southern access. All squads mass at the gatehouse! Now!"

"They know we're here… Bring it on you son of a bitch!" Zaeed shouted.

They worked their way along the turns of the catwalk.

"Squads Delta, Charlie. Mass at the gatehouse!"

As they moved off the catwalk she nabbed some Palladium and continued to the gatehouse door. When it opened they were greeted by Vido himself. "Zaeed Massani, you finally managed to track me down."

"Vido," Zaeed said as he reached back for his gun.

"Don't be stupid, Zaeed. I have a whole company of bloodthirsty bastards behind me, ready to kill of be killed on my command. Actually, take your shot. Give my men a reason to put you down like the mad dog you are. Again."

Zaeed ran across the floor, firing at the men up on the catwalk. A bullet hit a pipe, sending vapor into the air. "What was that? Gone nearsighted, old friend?"

Zaeed turned to face him. "Burn, you son of a bitch!" He fired again at the pipe, causing an explosion.

"Cover!" Shepard yelled as she ducked behind the closest cover she could fine.

Vido leaned over the railing. "You just signed your death warrant, Massani!" Then he turned and left, leaving his men to cover his ass.

Zaeed began beating the butt of his gun against a pipe valve.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shepard demanded.

The refinery began to shake, explosions rocked the plant.

"Opening the gate."

Damn the ass-weasel! She was pissed and itching to put a boot up his ass. She charged up to him. "We don't sacrifice lives for the sake of the mission. There's always a better way."

"Like what, wandering through the jungle for hours looking for another way in? You want to waste time out here go ahead. I'm going to kill Vido."

She raised her hand, picked him up and threw him against the wall. "You're endangering lives…and the mission…for your own selfish revenge!"

"You really want to do this Shepard?" Zaeed seethed aggressively.

"I will not warn you again." Kolyat bristled.

"I ought to drop your ass off the cliff…but thanks to you we have a burning refinery to save."

"Let these people burn, Vido dies…whatever the cost!" Zaeed said, waving a hand at her in disgust.

Kolyat let off a wave of energy and tossed him against the wall again.

"Will you stop doing that!" Zaeed said bitterly as he picked himself up off the ground. He made careful note of Kolyat's aggressive stance and cold demeanor. Damn frightening for a kid.

"Unless you back the fuck off...NO." Kolyat warned him.

Zaeed gave a slight nod. Not that he agreed, but that he understood the situation he was in.

They moved out into the refinery. Three mercs opened fire on them. She picked them up and flung them over the railing to the floor below. Chunks of the catwalk exploded beneath their feet as they made their way across. She picked up some more Palladium. As the door in front of them opened a man darted out on the platform above.

"Help! We're trapped in here! We can't get to the gas valves to shut them off!" The man looked around frantically, wringing his hands in agitation. "The whole place is going to blow!"

"No time. Vido's probably half way to the shuttle docks by now."

"You're willing to watch these people die?"

"Damn right I am. We stop to help these people and Vido gets away. If he gets away, I'm blaming you."

"Vido was never the mission. The mission you gave me…the mission I agreed to was saving the refinery and the people. Nothing more. This is not your call, Zaeed." She grabbed him by the front of his armor and pulled him in. "We're saving these people."

Zaeed looked from her to Kolyat, and rubbed at the sore spot she'd given him. "I knew this was a mistake. If we're going to this, we better get to it."

As soon as he capitulated she nodded. She didn't want Vido to get away either, but she had needed was for Zaeed to acknowledge her right of command. Now that he had submitted she turned to Miranda. "Miranda I want you and Tali to go after Vido with Zaeed. Kolyat, Legion and I will help free the trapped workers."

Miranda gave her an incredulous look.

She walked over to her and put a hand on her arm. "I don't want Vido getting away either. This is why I took so many with me this time. I knew there was a reason. This is it. You are second in command, a leader. I need you to keep rein over him. I was not willing to alter the mission until he gave in to my command."

Miranda gave her a nod. "Absolutely, Commander. My pleasure."

"Come on, Zaeed. Let's go get your man. Just so you know…you will follow my lead. I am in command of this team." Miranda said in all her arrogant glory.

She watched them go for a minute and then lowered here team to the walkway below and headed down into the refinery. The walkway continued to explode under their feet. She hacked through a door and they were in. Now to find the gas valves.

She followed the stairs up. Overheated pipes exploded all around them. When she opened the next door a wave of flame shot out, singeing them. Damn that was hot. She darted in as soon as it cleared enough for them to pass. She spotted a console and redirected the gas flow. They made their way up the stairs as fast as the explosions let them. She located a second console, rerouted the flow and continued up the stairs. Her lootdar went off and she scavenged some credits someone had stashed in a pipe. Odd place for money. She shook her head and continued the trek up.

"The extinguishing system is upstairs!" One of the workers yelled out to her. "The doors won't open until the fire's out!" Another screamed out, "We're going to die!" "No," assured another. "They'll save us, I know it!"

She rerouted the gas on a third console and hit the stairs again. Nothing like a good ass workout. At the top of the stairs she looped around a fallen beam and passed through into a small room. The first console had some research she downloaded, the second console set off the sprinkler system that began to put the fires out immediately.

They exited out the back door of the room and across a cat walk. Down below she could see the cheering workers dashing out of the room on their way to safety. She smiled at Kolyat. Now to try to make their way out to the second team.

At the bottom of the stairs they entered another room. Noticing a break in the catwalk railing she lowered them all to the floor below. They could have just jumped down onto the stacked crates, but she needed the practice anyway. She noticed a firestorm on the ground next to the pipe crushed body of a merc. Not a big fan of that weapon, so she skirted around it and headed through a doorway on the side. Two suns mercs opened fire on them. Literally. One held another firestorm. She pulled off her Arc Projector and hit them with a massive jolt. Easy-Peasy. Another several thousand credits jumped into her pocket and she picked up some more ammo for her Arc Projector. Nice.

They headed through a far door and into a pipe filled room. Lots of cover, but probably lots of things that would explode as well.

"The first person who brings me Massani's head gets something special in their paycheck." Vido said over Legions connection. Apparently, the men had not gotten to him yet.

Vido chuckled. "You brought Shepard with you and still you don't have a chance. I took your blue suns, I took your life. Now I will take it again."

He don't know me very well, do he? We'll see who has the last laugh, Vido. You're about to be caught in a pincer.

"Vido, stop hiding behind these men and come fight me!" Zaeed yelled out.

"Say your goddamned prayers, Massani!"

She shook her head. Men and their theatrics.

Mercs poured in from two sides of the room. Shooting both bullets and fire. She briefly exchanged her Arc for her Mattock and shot down a massive, flammable container down on the tops of some merc heads. She took her Arc back in hand and shot massive jolts into anything that moved. A huge YMIR began to unfold and she sent several jolts into it. It was down before it could ever rise. She loved firing the Arc at mercs shooting fire. They blew up so sweetly. This was absolutely her favorite heavy weapon. She rarely ever packed anything else. She switched to her Mattock and took down the second flammable container, taking out the last set of mercs she could find on her scanner.

With the scanner clear, she headed through the two doors the mercs had come out of. Her lootdar located 12,000 more credits. Nice. With as much as she'd been spending lately, her coffers were lighter than she liked.

Shepard heard a massive explosion. She flipped on her omni-tool. "Team two! Are you okay?"

"Fine, Commander. Vido's down. Zaeed went a little…overboard."

They made their way to the rear door. Team two was coming in.

Kolyat picked her up, whirled her around and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Ah, ain't that sweet. Get a room you two." Zaeed grumbled.

"That we will," Kolyat said. "Shall we leave, ange?"

When she was back on the Normandy, Kolyat went to the mess to get them a tray of food and she made her way to the cabin. She removed her armor, poured two drinks, put one on the table and settled on the sofa. She felt a cold settle around her. She flipped on her OT.

"Hi, lover."

_[It is good to be able to talk to you again, vela. I miss being able to talk to you whenever I want. I miss being able to hold you]_

"I miss it too. So much. Damn me, it hurts, Garrus."

_[I know, vela. We were meant for each other. This long-distance love affair...it's not right. But I will never give it up. Give you up. You are everything to me. You always have been]_

"I remember when we first met. I was drawn to you, but didn't know why. I just knew, soul deep, when we parted we would be seeing each other again. I knew you were going to be a part of my life."

_[When you walked away from me that first time I felt a such a deep loss I thought I would drown in it. I knew I would have to find you again. But you found me. You always find me.]_

The door swished open, she could smell the food even before she saw her husband.

= And I always will.

_[I take it our time is up?]_

Kolyat put the platter down on the table, lifted her legs and settled under them. He tried to peek at her OT, she moved it a bit to keep it from him.

= It would be rude to ignore him.

_[I love you, vela]_

= I love you too.

An uneasy feeling hit him. Shepard was not one to hide things. He grabbed her arm firmly, but gently and pulled it around. When she shut the OT, his eyes flew to hers.

"Kolyat..."

He didn't like the sound of that. He flipped open the OT. She tried to pull away, but he refused to release her. He could make out no sender, nor whether it was an email or message. The words were just there. Words that tore his world apart, the meaning...the love behind them flayed his heart.

He couldn't stop the tears as he looked into her sad eyes. "Ange..."

She looked back over the words, saw them as he would see them. It didn't look good. "It's not what you think, husband. I know it reads bad. But it's not like that." She placed a hand against his soft cheek. "There is NO man alive I want inside of me but you. There is no man alive that I love the way I love you."

His eyes went back over the words displayed on her OT. "Then why, ange? If I'm the only man you love...the only one you want inside of you...I don't understand why."

_[The only man ALIVE]_

She slammed the OT shut. Kolyat shot her a look and opened it. His mouth fell open, as he lifted his eyes to hers. "Is that - ?"

"Yes." She said simply. "I did mention we talked by OT." She looked around the room. "Did you have to rub it in like that?" A cold swipe to her right cheek. "Why?" A cold chill over her heart. "I know you love me, but that doesn't answer my question."

_[Sorry. I was...jealous]_

Kolyat's eyes fell to the screen and then he slapped it shut. "You converse with him? With them?"

"You know I do."

"I've never actually seen you converse with them before. Do you talk with them a lot?" A cold swipe to his right cheek. Kolyat shivered and placed his hand over his cheek.

"That means yes. It was how we talked until I figured out how to get the OT to work for them."

"I remember. I guess I hadn't realized how much they are still a part of your life." He swallowed a painful lump in his throat.

"There are places inside me your love could not reach. My souls - they were festering. It is why lifemates do not outlive each other. I needed the connection...and I didn't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." She placed a hand against his cheek and gently wiped a tear away.

It hurt like hell that there was a part of her he couldn't reach.

She closed her eyes. The look of pain he gave her knifed through her. She sat up, straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She gave a sigh of relief when she felt his arms come around her. He held her so tightly she could feel his every breath. "I know it hurts. I know it's hard to understand. They are tortured. They lost me, their children, their family. They are bound to me and can't leave me, I'm their lifemate. They can see me, but can't touch me. They can hear me, but can't talk to me. The only solace they gets at all is when they...step into you. For a brief moment they can feel me, feel the children when I merge us...I know you probably feel violated. It's probably hard to have empathy for what they're going through, they - "

Kolyat pulled her down for a lingering kiss. "I can empathize, ange. Life is precarious... Death could not keep me from you either. I am sorry for what they...what you are going through. It is why I accept their...possession. But I'm also very thankful to have been given this chance to be with you, to love you."

She ran her hands over her husband's head, loving the feel of it beneath her fingers. She rained kisses over his eyes, his tears, his nose, then feasted on his lips, his tongue, sighing into his mouth as she felt him grow hard. She moved against him, needing to feel him. Needing his love.

They feasted on each other...the platter of food...and then again on each other.

The next afternoon she hit up the terminal in her room. One particular email caught her interest. Shepard beamed a smile at her husband. "I just received a message from Solana. They should be graduating next week. Fastest two to ever make it through the academy. I'm so proud of them." She might have had to pull some strings…but they had to do the work.

"I am very proud of them too…though they seem to prefer to write you." Kolyat said as soon as he'd picked his wits up off the floor.

"I'm sweet and lovable."

"You most definitely are, ange. And I intend to kiss every sweet and lovable inch of you." He said as he picked his wife up and carried her to the bed. He felt dual cold chills up his spine.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 21

The Grey Box

Shepard left the cargo hangar with a huge chip on her shoulders. The double edge sword had a nasty bite. An Alliance colony on Watson had come under attack by batarian radicals. The batarians had launched their own moon based defense missiles at the colony. By the time they had reached Franklin, the moon outpost, and defeated the batarians within, only one viable kill switch had remained executable. She saved the residential district but the space port and its workers were destroyed.

Kolyat and Samara had been with her. She wasn't sure why Samara's aura had been brighter than usual. They hadn't gotten to Morinth yet, but it was nice to have her friend along for a change. They were doing their best to cheer her up, but not being able to save everyone was always a sore spot with her, no matter how irrational that was.

Normally, at times like this she would get drunk off her ass, until she didn't care anymore. Now that she was pregnant that was no longer an option and it rankled a bit. Kolyat, sensitive to her needs, wrapped his arms around her and gave her something else to think about. Thank god there was more than one way to ease your sorrows.

They chose to stay in the rest of the evening. They lay around naked, watching vids, pigging out, and making love until exhaustion overtook them.

With the morning routine completed and an enjoyable shower later, they made their way down to the firing range. They linked their units to broaden the playing field and she programmed batarian mercs with a volcanic moon background. She had as much fun shooting them as tossing them in the lava and watching them sizzle and pop. It was very gratifying.

When they left the firing range they went their own ways as duty called. She made her rounds, talking with her crew and squad mates. She was pleased to see Ken and Gabby were a solid couple. They'd been virtually inseparable since the dance. Speaking of dancing, she was having Samara teach her a seductive asari number. She didn't quite have the hang of it yet, and they spent a lot of time laughing at her blunders. It was nice to see Samara cut loose. She was reserved by nature and Shepard loved the challenge of pulling her out of it. Seeing her eyes light up was worth the effort. Learning the dance had actually been more for Samara's benefit than her own.

As she was heading towards her cabin, Joker informed her that ETA to Bekenstein was in 21 minutes.

When she arrived she pulled on her newly tailored black leather mini-dress with an attached platinum choker and a pair of small black pumps. She'd had the dress altered to allow for her belly ring to be displayed. She chose a black onyx rose.

Kolyat walked into the cabin. "I heard Joker's ETA." He looked her over in her dress. "You look good enough to eat."

Shepard blushed. "You are just never going to let me live that down."

"Not for a minute. I just wish we had the time." The smell of her desire and pheromones hit him like a sledgehammer. He took another deep breath. "Gods you smell good, ange." Kolyat tugged her to him for a steamy kiss and then pulled back. "Any chance I can go too?"

"Not even remotely. You don't have the reputation needed for a pit of vipers like that. I wished I'd have thought to have Kasumi make you one."

Kolyat dropped his head a moment and then looked at her. "I don't like it, but I understand." He felt a cold swipe on his right cheek and a cold chill over his heart. He wasn't sure what good ghosts would be to his wife, but he felt a little better knowing they were there.

Kolyat grabbed her armor, she grabbed her guns and they made their way down to the cargo hangar.

Kolyat looked up at the huge Saren statue and shuddered. He'd read all the reports and she'd told him about the turian. He would drag him form the afterlife and kill him again if he could. They stored her armor and weapons next to Kasumi's and closed the base of the statue.

A courier ship arrived on schedule and hooked up with the Normandy to take possession of the statue. The Normandy could not risk detection, so stayed well away from Bekenstein. When the statue was on its way to the planet below, Shepard gave Kolyat another brief hug and kiss and boarded the shuttle behind Kasumi.

The pilot dropped them off at the space port and they rented a sky car in Gunn's name to take them to Hock's estate. Kasumi went back over the last minute details. She reminded Shepard to make sure she introduced herself as Allison Gunn. Kasumi had given Shepard's alias quite the reputation and even a few mentions in Badass Weekly. She was head of a talented band of mercs out in the Terminus Systems.

"Hock is throwing a party for his closest friends. A few dozen of the worst liars, cheaters and mass murderers you will ever want to meet. All bringing gifts as tribute for the man himself. Hence our statue of Saren. You can keep your pistol. They won't hassle you over a sidearm."

"Once inside, we'll make our way to Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom. Then we case security. Our statue should be there, so you can arm up when the time comes. Then we just waltz into the vault and take back Keiji's greybox. And I'll finally get the chance to say goodbye."

"I'm glad we are able to do this for you. Hock has no right to what ever's in that greybox."

"It contains priceless, personal memories. It's all that remains of who he was." Kasumi said solemnly, hanging her head for a brief moment. "But the secret he discovered _is_ dangerous. I wouldn't bring you here if it wasn't. It holds everything, from all the plans and codes he stole to our private time together…wrapped up in those memories is the secret he discovered. Keiji never told me what it was, but the information got him killed."

"Okay, let's go see what trouble we can get into." She felt a cold swipe over her left cheek. A cold chill over her heart another over her womb. Bloody men.

"Sounds like a plan, Shep…This is our stop." Kasumi said as she settled the car down in front of Hock's estate.

She looked around; it was a huge, massive estate. She saw their statue being unloaded from one of the courier's ground trucks.

Kasumi put her arm out. "After you Ms. Gunn."

As they headed to the door a security guard stopped them. "Just a moment ma'am, there seems to be an issue with the statue."

Donovan Hock came down the steps towards them. He turned to his security guard. "Is there a problem here?"

"No, Mr. Hock, just doing a scan." The guard replied as he continued to scan the statue.

"I don't believe we've met. Donovan Hock." Hock said, turning to his guests.

"We've heard a lot about you. Name's Allison Gunn."

"And I've heard a lot about you. You've been very busy lately…if the extranet is to be believed. You look a little…soft for our line of work. But then looks can be deceiving…and deception is part of the game, is it not?" He said with a slight bow.

Yeah…bet you know all about deception. Shepard mused.

"Sir…the scanners aren't picking _anything_ up." The guard interrupted.

Hock stared intently at the statue for a moment. "Hmmm." He paused. "I don't think our guests would come all the way from Illium just to cause trouble. Do you?"

The guard shrugged and Hock shook his head. "You may pass through Ms. Gunn, with my apologies. But I will ask your companion to remain outside. You understand, I hope."

"You're the host."

Hock nodded, "Enjoy the party." He said as he dismissed them and returned to other guests.

Kasumi waved them over. "Well, that didn't go as planned."

"Any idea why he would send you away?"

"No. We've never seen each other in person. And no one knows what I look like."

"I can stay connected via OT and you can walk me through everything if need be."

"No need for that," Kasumi said with a grin. "We'll go on with the plan. You'll just have to do all the talking. I'll stay out of sight. We'll keep our comms open in case something goes wrong," she said as she synced up all of their omni-tools. Kasumi activated her cloak and faded into the scenery.

"I so wish I could have one of those! Too bad my biotics mess with the electronics." She said as they walked into Hock's home.

"You are probably the strongest person alive…do you really need to disappear too?"

"But think of all I could do!"

"You mean all the trouble you could get into?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't get into trouble…much…Well, I don't go looking for it." A cold swipe on her left cheek. "Et tu Brute?" A cold chill over her heart.

Kasumi shot her a questioning look. "It just has a way of finding you, Shep. We need to find the door and case the security."

They made their way slowly through the rooms. Her omni-tool recorded all the faces and conversation bits they overheard as they moved past.

"Shep," Kasumi whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Making a recording to send back to the Alliance and Council. I'm not going to go archangel and take down all these people myself; I don't have time for that right now…but earworms in the right ears can move mountains." She whispered back.

She completed the tour of the left side of the room and walked out onto the wrap-around balcony. On a balcony seat, Shepard picked up a datapad with a security communication log.

"Chief Roe, huh? She sounds like a hard ass. If we can sneak into security, I can probably use this information."

She followed the balcony around and entered back into the house through the opposite door. She noticed a stairwell leading to a lower level and took it.

"This is it!" Kasumi said with excitement. "Very nice. There's more here than I expected," Kasumi admitted as they entered the chamber that led to the vault.

Shepard looked up into Saren's face, remembering what it felt like to be dangled over the waterfall. She shivered at the memory. A cold chill over her heart. "I love you too."

Kasumi glanced over at her friend..."Um, thank you...Shep."

Shepard chuckled. She couldn't help herself.

Kasumi moved around the room, looking over the security details. "Password protected voice lock, kinetic barrier, DNA scanner…looks like an EX-700 series. Impressive. Everything a vault needs to be impenetrable."

"Is this a no-go?"

"Please, Shep…have a little faith. Remember who you're talking to. We'll need to get a voice sample, find the password, find the power supply to the barrier and collect his DNA – child's play. His private rooms should net us plenty. Keiji could get through a system like this in his sleep…and I'm better."

As she left the room, she found the barrier's power cables. Kasumi set Shepard's omni-tool to scan for electronic fields so she could follow the underground cables. She made her way through the right side of the room, recording as she went and then she turned to follow the cables around the ball room to the location source and Kasumi disabled the power.

She had passed a locked room on her way to the power source, so they returned. Kasumi hacked the door. Shepard put the two security guards in stasis. She skirted around them, lifted a crap load of credits from Hock's safe, and found the password they would need for the vault. "The password is Peruggia."

"Nice." Kasumi said with a smile. "That's the man that stole the Mona Lisa."

Kasumi created a link through the security feeds that would route and incoming calls for Chief Roe to her omni-tool, she had a feeling they would be needing it.

Before they left Kasumi knifed both men in the back and they fell silently to the ground.

Once out of the security quarters she made her way to Hock.

Ms. Gunn…I hope you are enjoying the party. I hope that scene at the door hasn't soured your evening." Hock said as he shook her hand.

"There's always someone gunning for people like us." She was nothing like Hock. But she was squarely at the top of a lot of people's shit lists.

"Hah, yes. That's true. I'm glad you understand."

"I'm surprised your security isn't tighter. It's a ballsy move, opening your front door like this." Shepard said looking around.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Hopefully, it sends the message that I don't fear anyone stupid enough to step up to me." Hock began a grandiose speech on how the deeds they all did kept the galaxy running. His delusions were astounding and she had an earworm to deliver with his name on it.

She returned to the right side of the room where she had noted a guard standing watch over a door. He had told her these were Hock's private chambers and she was not allowed to enter. When she explained that Chief Roe had given her permission, he commed the Chief to verify. Kasumi, the pseudo-Chief, blasted him a new one and he apologized and allowed her entry into Hock's private quarters.

She followed the stairs down to an unlocked door. Wow. His rooms were as opulent and grandiose as he was. Between the two of them they were able to gather enough usable DNA. Just for grins and giggles…and the credits didn't hurt either…she hacked into Hock's personal safe and cleaned it out. Done and done.

They left his quarters and returned to the vault room. While she armored up, Kasumi used what they had gathered to crack the security. Once inside the vault she took a few pictures with her omni-tool on a few more notable pieces that she was pretty sure he had no right to have.

"Wow. This is the Kasa Locust. The gun that killed two presidents. And it has an exact copy. I'm sure Hock won't mind if we borrow these."

Shepard snapped it to her hip. She didn't use SMGs anymore, but it was too nice a find to pass up.

"Oh my god. There it is." Kasumi said, when she found Keiji's grey box. She flipped on her omni-tool and began uploading its contents."

"Don't bother miss Goto, it's code locked." Spoke Hock's massive hologram face. "I had a feeling that was you at the door. I knew if it was really you, you'd get through anyway."

"You know me…I don't like to disappoint."

"I need what's in your greybox, Kasumi. You know I'm willing to kill you for it. I'll admit your skills are impressive. You got into my vault like I'd left it open, but you're still going to die screaming, like your friend did."

Shepard put her hand over her mouth and yawned. She took the pistol from her side and blew the nearest treasure to bits.

"Noooo!" Hock screamed.

"Have I got your attention?" Shepard asked.

"Hah! That shut him up, Shep."

Kassumi's omni-tool beeped, upload complete.

"Kill them!" Hock shouted.

She had to admit they really tried. One tricky bitch engineer was a pain in the ass to take down. She ended up trapping her in a stasis bubble. She charged a few when they separated from the pack. But, it was a tediously slow cat and mouse game. She certainly preferred having more than one team mate.

"Checking blueprints." Kasumi said when the last one fell. "There's a landing pad to the east. Let's get out of here."

Shepard notified the Normandy the coordinates to send a shuttle.

When they entered into the next room they were fired on immediately. Shepard darted behind some containers next to a large tank. She fired off some reave waves and a couple of stasis bubbles. Her cool down times were getting shorter the more gold her glow became. She could nearly fire one right after another. It wore her out faster, but usually paid off in the end. Since there were so many enemies she chose to use her Arc gun. It left her out in the open longer, but took down several at one time. A huge YMIR entered into the fray. She warp bombed it then zapped it with her Arc.

"They've left the vault. Seal them in!" Hock ordered.

"Damn it! We have to find another way!"

"This way!" Shepard yelled as she turned to the right and headed up the stairs to an unlocked door. At the top of the stairs she hacked a datapad for some credits and entered through the door. They rounded the corner and ducked behind some barrels.

Mercs popped up from the bed of a truck and fired until their guns were emptied. They ducked out of sight to reload and new mercs jumped up to take their place. Nice teamwork on their part…but won't change the outcome one bit. When her scanner showed clear, she rounded the barrels and took in the room. She saw a missile loaded tank and a wicked smile spread across her face.

"Where are you going, Shep?"

"Making us a way out."

She grabbed some credits from a locker, some platinum just lying around and jumped up to the tank, armed the missile and fired it. It slammed into the wall, detonated with a massive force that shook the building. Garrus would have loved to have seen that.

"That kicks ass, Shep."

"What the hell are you people doing down there?" Hock demanded.

Her lootdar led her to some credits stuffed in one of the deactivated mechs in a side room…people sure do hide things in the strangest places. Then she stepped through the massive hole in the wall.

"Kill Allison Gunn, bring the girl to me." Hock ordered.

She darted down behind some crates next to the wall and fired a few Arc charges into the oncoming horde. When the YMIR and mercs were down they proceeded forward slowly and carefully.

"Don't fight me, Kasumi. You know what happened to your boy-toy when he fought back." Hock taunted her.

A truck pulled up ahead filled with more mercs. She threw a singularity at them followed by a reave. She then tossed a warp bomb into the mix and sent mercs flying. Kasumi would dart in camouflaged, knife a merc in the back and disappear again. The hard part was to avoid shooting or firing biotic waves when she disappeared. It made fighting a wee bit of a pain.

When their scanners were clear, she made a U-turn around the wall on their left, grabbed some medigel from a med-kit, some research off a dead merc at the top of the steps, and slipped through the door.

"Keep them busy, I'll take care of this myself." Hock informed his band of not so merry mercs.

The large room they had entered was for cargo sorting and loading. Mercs lined the floor and the platforms. Biotics, bullets and rockets were flying. She took cover behind some nearby barrels. With the first wave cleared out, they proceeded further into the cargo bay and dodged behind some crates when more mercs poured out from a side entry. A rocket took down her shields, she amped and charged the rocket-man. Before she could charge back into cover a shot to the abdomen bounced off her shields and a fury she'd never felt before ripped through her. She amped her power, brought her hands together and then jerked her arms apart, sending head and body of the unfortunate asari flying in opposite directions. A cold smile spread over her face.

She stood their shocked, horrified by what she'd done…horrified that she had felt pleasure in the act. Kasumi appeared at her pulled her down behind cover. "What you did…That was amazing, Shep."

"No, it wasn't it was…horrifying. But it's more than the deed, Kasumi. I felt pleasure watching her die…and that is a line I never wanted to cross." She felt herself enveloped by cold and was thankful for their presence.

"We have all crossed that line, Shep. Right or wrong, it is a natural feeling when you are defending someone you love. You were defending your babies. I felt the same taking down anyone who went after Keiji. Right now we need to focus on clearing out these mercs. So, how about we give them some hell?"

She gave her a nod and jumped back into the fray. She grabbed one unfortunate merc and lifted him. "Forgive me." Then she drained him. His body arched and twisted, a scream of nightmares echoed through the bay, blood pouring from every orifice. "Thank you. Sleep well," she told him as he hit the ground.

Mercs stared at her in horror and every weapon came to bear on her. She raised both her hands, lifted two groups of mercs up and slammed them into each other. As they fell she sent a reave wave at the pile of mercs. She scanned the room and could find no more enemy signatures.

"Ok, great…can we go now, Shep?"

Shepard nodded. "Let's move out."

They headed through the back hangar door, through a small control room to the landing deck. As they stepped out into the setting sunlight, they waited a brief moment for their eyes to adjust. A gunship flew overhead.

"Incoming! Get down!" Shepard ordered. They grabbed cover behind some conveniently stacked crates.

"You could have done this the easy way, Goto. Allow me to show you the hard way." Hock said as he rained more bullets at them.

Mercs began pouring in from the right. She flung a heavy wave at them sending them flying off the edge of the landing deck. A couple dodged the blast.

"Going dark." Kasumi said.

Damn. Now she had to wait to see what she was going to do. Kasumi struck the man in the left in the back and Shepard turned and blew the head off of the man on the right.

When the gunship lowered, more mercs poured in from the end of the deck in front of them. She pulled out her sniper and was able to nail a couple from a distance and then switched to her Mattock. One got too close, she charged him…sending him flying and darted behind a truck.

Pleasantly polite mechs started marching towards them. That was great because they made easy targets, since they weren't concerned with taking cover, but it could also bite you in the ass if you weren't careful, because like the terminator, they just didn't stop coming.

When they finally got a moment to breathe, the gunship rose from the left along with another group of mercs on the ground.

"Gunship's back and with full shields. If I can get to the ship, I can take down the shields! So clear me a path." Kasumi informed her as she ducked behind a truck for cover.

More mercs and mechs stepped up to the plate…or onto the deck to be more precise. She picked them up, threw them or slammed them into the ground just for grins and giggles. She was going to have to work on her singularities more…they didn't seem to pack the same punch as they used to…or her aim was off, which wasn't very likely. Maybe the pregnancy affected her ability to harness that much direct dark energy. Definitely something to look into later. Her drain charge was brutal on the mechs.

"I've got a clear shot. Here goes." Kasumi took a running leap and landed on some piping. She climbed up to the higher pipes and launched herself at the ship, landing on top of the front window.

Hot damn…I could have done that. Didn't have the know-how to take the shields down so quickly though. Of course, Kolyat probably would have shaken her clear out of her skin when he found out she'd done any such thing…and he always seems to find out. Guess it's a good thing I didn't think to do that…but, damn…that was amazing. Four cold swipes on her left cheek. "I didn't say I would ever do such a thing." She said innocently. Four could swipes on her left cheek. "Men," she sighed. Two cold chills over her heart. "Yeah, yeah...I love you both too," she grumped.

Kasumi shorted the shields, hung on tight when the ship jerked, saluted Hock and jumped back off the gunship, landing in a graceful squatting splits on the ground. "Shields down! Let's tear that thing apart!"

"Even if you take down this gunship, I've got more. You can't win this, Kasumi." Hock taunted her. "You should have died in the vault…now you will die in pieces."

Another wave of mechs and mercs came at them from the right as the gunship flew back and forth raining bullets and rockets down on them. She picked up a few of the mercs and threw them at a group of mechs and mercs, reaved the whole pile…because that worked so well before and left Kasumi to clean up the mess while she focused on the gunship.

She threw warp bombs at it to wear down its armor. Then she grabbed her sniper and began to pour bullets into the smoking gunship. Kasumi eventually joined in and the airship, along with Donovan Hock, exploded into tiny fragments.

With the gunship down, the shuttle was able to come in for a pick up. On the way back to the Normandy, they pulled up the information from Keiji's greybox. His hologram and an assortment of pictures popped up. It was uncomfortably similar to her own memory pictures. He'd left her a final message on his greybox. Knowing she wouldn't be seeing it unless he was dead. He explained how he'd made her a target and that he wanted her to destroy this information, because it was the only way he could protect her and the Alliance. She ran to his holo and hugged it. Unable to bear the thought of destroying the only thing left that she had of him.

Shepard walked over to Kasumi. "Kasumi, I know this is hard. I can empathize…I lost both of my lifemates. Keeping this will not only put the Alliance in danger, but also your ability to move on. If you keep him so sharp and close that he cannot fade even a little…as a memory should, then your eyes will be closed to any future love...to what you could have with Jacob. For you would have built him up so big, that no one could ever compare. He wanted you to do this for him. Ultimately, I will leave the decision up to you…but it was his last request and I think you should honor his wishes. If it's easier I will do it for you." Shepard felt like such a heel and hypocrite. She had kept recordings and pictures she had of her lifemates…talked to them all the time, even made love to them. Of course, there was nothing dangerous to the Alliance in what she had…but she knew she'd have talked Kasumi into erasing the files even if they weren't encrypted, because she knew just how damaging and addicting living those memories could be. She lived it daily.

"I know…you're right." Kasumi said backing away…a tremor in her voice. "Just get it over with…please."

Shepard returned to the console and erased the files. Kasumi bowed her head in grief. The stars winked at them through the shuttle windows.

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 22

Jack

Kasumi was heartbroken over the loss of Keiji's files. It was like losing him all over again. She assured Shepard that she knew it had to be done and that she wasn't blaming her at all, but Shepard felt the weight of that decision anyway. She'd been spending more time with Kasumi, but she knew nothing she did could make up for the loss Kasumi was going through. Shepard knew what it was like losing someone more than once. She had lost Thane in every lifetime and lost Garrus in this one. Keiji might not have been Kasumi's lifemate, but it didn't make the love any less real. The loss was still hard to endure. But at least that chapter was finally closed and she could begin to heal. Unfortunately, the loss of a lifemate never healed.

They were heading to Osun, in the Hourglass Nebula to pick up a convict Cerburus had agreed to pay for. Little was known about the convict, except for the name Jack…Jack was reported to be a very powerful biotic. She was worried Jack was going to harder to handle than Zaeed, who she really didn't like on the best of days. He was a hard man…though he'd been easier to stomach since the death of Vido. But an actual, dangerous convict? She'd spent her career putting down criminals, not holding them to her bosom.

Shepard stared out the port lounge window at the stars streaming by like beams of light.

"Quite worrying so much. You don't have to always worry about everything. You know you can always toss Jack's ass in a stasis pod if he proves to be too big of a pain." Kasumi said with a chuckle.

Shepard spun around to face Kasumi, leaning her back against the cool permiglass. "Joker told me something similar. He said I could toss him out the airlock. I think I like your solution better. Of course, I've not met him yet…my opinion could change."

Kasumi cocked her head and shook it. "Yes…cause I can really picture you doing that, Shep."

Shepard looked up for a moment, recalling the head she'd ripped off the asari merc. "I've come to realize…under the right circumstances, I'm capable of just about anything."

"Aren't we all, Shep…aren't we all."

"Want to watch a vid? I've been wanting to watch an old earth flick called, Star Wars."

Kasumi's eyes widened. "Don't you get enough of that in everyday life? Why would you ever want to watch a vid about it?"

"Because it's somebody else's life…somebody else's trials and tribulations. Not mine. Plus, it's always a hoot to see what people thought space would be like way back then."

"I suppose it's too much to hope that it's 3D immersion?"

"Not a chance. Old style flat screen…but at least it's easier to watch…with immersion I'm trying to look all around me at the same time and I know I'm missing so much."

"But you can't _experience_ a flat screen. Ok, fine…but if I don't like it, we're doing something I want to do next."

"You got it."

"ETA to Purgatory 22 minutes, Commander."

Shepard sighed… "Thank you, Joker." She gave Kasumi an apologetic look. "Guess it'll wait…catch you later, Kasumi."

She made a quick round of all of her squadmates. It took a bit more time to check their auras in this manner, but she felt guilty taking them away from whatever they were doing, when Kolyat nearly always shined the brightest. "EDI have Legion meet me at the airlock in 20."

"Of course, Shepard."

As she walked into the cabin Kolyat was already there waiting for her. Yep…his was the brightest. "How is it you always have such a bright aura? It's really not fair to the other squad mates."

"They'll deal with it, ange." He said as he was pulling on his armored leather suit.

"Brr…Kol…that was cold."

He raised his eyebrow ridge. "That was not my intention. I love you and I know I can defend you better than anyone else. I'm sure they understand."

Shepard pulled out her armor. Then she stood up straight, eyes flew open and made a mad dash to the bathroom. She lifted the seat and fell to her knees in front of the toilet.

Kolyat saw what was happening, He charged to the bathroom, dropped to her side and pulled the hair back from her face as she heaved out what was left of her breakfast. He flushed the toilet for her.

Shepard continued to lay draped over the commode, trying to gather her strength.

"Is it the pregnancy, ange?" Kolyat asked gently.

She nodded and groaned, her belly heaving again.

"It's a wonder you have not been sick before now. From everything I read on human pregnancy, the first trimester is supposed to be the worst."

"I have been," Shepard's voice echoed in the bowl. She sat up and Kolyat gave her a hand. "You were always so busy; you just weren't around to see it."

"I would have been here for you, ange. You didn't have to go through it alone."

"I preferred it that way…it's gross" She said as she grabbed her toothbrush and began to scrub away the foul taste. She doused her mouth with antiseptic mouth spray, her eyes watering at the harsh, minty flavor.

When she moved from the sink Kolyat pulled her into his arms and looked down into her eyes. "Perhaps, but I want to be here, ange. This is our pregnancy…not just yours. I want to be a part of all of it…the good and the bad." His lips found hers for a gentle kiss before he released her.

She trailed her hand down his arm and across his fingers as she walked away. She retrieved her armor and began putting it on.

"Just so you are aware, that rarely happens anymore. With any luck it won't happen again."

"I will always be here for you." Kolyat said as he pulled her back into his arms. His kiss was demanding…intense. His tongue ran down the shell of her ear and his teeth grazed her lobe.

She gasped and shivered, rocking into him. She trailed her mouth down his soft, red throat and bit it, her tongue catching the tiny drops of blood.

When he felt her bite he lost it. He crushed her against him. His mouth, his tongue battled hers with aggressive sweeps and plunges. One hand locked around her waist to hold her tight, the other sought her heat through her undersuit. He rubbed his fingers against her and her hips bucked against his hand as she moaned into his mouth. He needed more. Gods. He started to shake and forced himself to release her. "Get your armor before I completely lose it." He said in a passion strangled voice.

Shepard took some deep breaths to slow her wildly beating heart. She noted Kolyat was shaking as badly as she was and it wouldn't even need a spark to fan the flames burning through them. "EDI scrub the air." She said as she fastened on the rest of her armor.

"Right away, Shepard."

With her scent contained inside her suit, the air scrubbing was able to work its magic and Kolyat was able to give a sigh of relief.

"Now I'm horny as hell…so let's get this over with, because my tongue wants to explore every inch of you." She said with a wicked smile before dashing out the door.

Kolyat groaned. Then came to a sudden stop. He fought to push back a memory that was trying to force its way out. Not one they had time for. But he was losing the battle. His need was too strong…her words…her tongue. "Vanilla spice…thick and sweet. Warm fingers…tremble-"

Shepard peeked back in and noted the distant look in his eyes. She grabbed Kolyat by the shoulders and gave him a brisk shake. Bringing him out of the memory before he could delve further into it.

Kolyat shook his head to clear it. "Thank you, ange. I…couldn't stop that one."

"I had to, husband…or we would not be leaving these quarters for some time." She said with a wink as she headed for the door.

The trio waited patiently…or at least Legion waited patiently in the airlock while the Normandy docked with the Purgatory prison station.

Blue Suns. Just great, thought Shepard as she approached the guard waiting for them.

"Welcome aboard the Purgatory, Shepard. Your package is being prepped and you can claim it shortly. As this is a high security vessel, you need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"That's just not going to happen. As a Spectre I don't have to relinquish my weapons to anyone. Ever." Shepard said, giving him a hard glare.

An older, bare-faced turian approached. "Everyone stand down. Commander, I'm warden Kuril, and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just standard procedure."

"Let me reiterate. You don't have the authority to take my weapons. I will not be relinquishing them. Have I made my intentions clear?"

Kuril gave her a long hard look. One she refused to back down from. "Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests. We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to out-processing for the pickup, Commander.'

"Let's go."

As they entered the station, Warden Kuril pointed out different defenses and areas of the prison. "Cell block two," he said, and spun around briefly so he can look at them while he was talking, "As you can see…we keep tight control over the population." He continued to lead them and talk about his prison.

Through the windows they could see massive arms maneuvering prisoner chamber cells.

"Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained modular unit. I've blown a few out the airlock as an example. The ship is made up of thirty cell blocks, identical to this one. We house thousands of criminals. We can put the whole place in lock-down on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here."

"What can you tell me about Jack?" Shepard asked.

Kuril turned around surprised that she knew nothing of Jack. "Jack is the meanest handful of violence I've ever encountered. Dangerous, crazy and very powerful. You'll see soon enough."

"How'd you end up running this ship?"

"I was in law enforcement on Palaven and got sick of seeing criminal escape out into the galaxy to carry on with their crimes. Bounty hunters aren't dependable. Eventually, I hit upon this idea. Keep the criminals in space and the galaxy is a safer place."

"So you are doing this because you think it's necessary?"

"Every day I see the worst sapient life had to offer. Governments are soft, unwilling to make the hard choices. Someone had to stand up and make the galaxy safe."

"Maintaining a population this size in space can't be cheap."

"We can cut corners that governments can't. And each prisoner brings in a fee from his homeworld. These individuals are violent and their home planets pay well to keep them here."

"What happens if the homeworld doesn't want to pay?"

"We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help. So, we'll be forced to release him back on his homeworld at an unspecified place and time.

"Extortion. Noble to the core, I see." Kolyat said drolly.

"That does not qualify as an illegal threat?" Legion inquired.

'You don't have to agree with my methods, but don't question my motives. These are despicable people and I'm keeping them locked up."

"Let's finish this."

"Organics resist attempts at incarceration." Legion stated.

"Have there been escape attempts?" Kolyat asked as Kuril began to lead the way again.

"We're in space. They have nowhere to go…and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution."

Shepard came to a stop when she noticed two prisoners becoming aggressive on the cell block below. A barrier generator opened up and shot out two streams of energy that encased both prisoners in bubbles, forcing their separation.

"We have many ways to control the population." Kuril informed her.

"Impressive defensive measures." Kolyat acknowledged.

She nodded and resumed following Kuril. Her husband fell into step beside her. She was beginning to feel an odd niggle. Niggles were never any good. She didn't like having them. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I have a niggle," she said quietly. He stood up straighter and nodded. They were on high alert now.

"I'm going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus have cleared. Outprocessing is straight down this hallway." Kuril said to Shepard as he stopped and pointed them in the direction they would need to take. "Just keep going past the interrogation rooms and the super-max wing. He gave her calculated look and turned, walking in the opposite direction. "I'll catch up with you later…Shepard."

Kolyat watched him walk away until the door closed behind him. They continued down the hall, because there was really no place else to go…but she could feel her niggle growing. Damned niggle. What she really wanted to do was get back to their cabin so she could feel something else growing…but that bloody niggle may just put her hands on hold longer…and that thought really pissed her off.

Kolyat looked at her other in concern. He could feel the distress coming off his wife in waves. He reached out and pulled her to a stop. "What is bothering you, wife?"

A turian guard that they had passed turned from the window he'd been gazing through to stare at the couple in shock. That a human was married to a drell? The drell shot him a cold look and he turned back to the window. Something about the look made him made him realize he wanted nothing to do with that pair.

Shepard pulled him in closer. "My niggle is growing. And damn it all…that's not what I want to feel growing right now." She said, giving him a hot look. "I'm getting the feeling that niggle is going to delay my plans and I'm pissed. Kuril's aura was dark and mottled…that usually means deception. Keep your eyes and ears open. Expect anything."

Now he was hard, horny and on edge. If anything screamed I'm itching for a fight…that did.

As the hallway turned to the right they could hear screams from a prisoner. She peered into the room and saw a guard repeated beating a man.

Kolyat shook his head. "Such abuse destroys both the guard and the prisoner."

"It is barbarous." She agreed.

"The subject will invent fiction it believes the interrogator desires. Data acquired will be invalid." Legion stated.

She turned to the turian guard watching from the outside of the cell and with a few chosen words, she was able to convince him to call off the beating.

The prisoner in the next cell over proved to be very enlightening. They learned that the warden often sold cons to whichever buyer could pay the most. Essentially, the warden was a slaver. Good to know.

They proceeded through a door at the end of the hall, passed a hallway leading to the right and continued to a door that had the word Outprocessing near it. Good. We needed to wrap this up before the niggle sunk its teeth in too deep.

As they entered a helpful worker told them outprocessing was through the door on the far side of the room. The closer she moved towards the door the larger the niggle got. She came to a stop and began to glow. Her eyes closed, her head tilted up…she began to rise off the ground. The technician let out a yell and ran out the door. Kolyat grabbed her legs and pulled her back down. He could feel her power course through him, his body hummed with energy. It felt better than the siphon. Her body settled back on the ground, her glow faded and her eyes opened. She pulled out a nasty Nutra-Bac bar and darn near swallowed it whole and then gagged down the second as she headed for the door at the back of the room.

"Ange..." Kolyat said as he grabbed her hand and turned her to face him. "Why did your powers amp so high that you rose off the ground?"

She looked in disbelief at him. 'I didn't do that did I?" Cold swipe on her right cheek.

"Yes, wife…you did. I had to keep hold of you, because I didn't know how far up you were going to go. You were emanating massive amounts of power. What happened?"

"My spidey sense was tingling."

Kolyat looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"I'm sorry, Kol. I'm an old earth movie nut. It means I can feel something big is about to happen. And by that I mean something bad."

He gave Legion a nod and they pulled their guns. She hit the door pad to open it.

"My apologies, Shepard. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer." Kuril's voice poured over a loud speaker. "Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"And there it is… the shoe… Do you _really_ think I'm going to do that? Me? A Spectre? Someone didn't do their homework." She said with a chuckle. "You are delusional, my friend. This is not going to play out like you'd hoped. You really shouldn't have delayed my plans and pissed me off. This isn't going to end well…for you."

"Activate systems!" Kuril ordered.

Armed guards and mech dogs began pouring into the room. They darted behind desks for cover. She shot out a stasis ball and captured two guards within it. Hot damn…that hadn't happened before. Since she was at the back of the room, she chose her Viper. Leaving the men inside the room to her husband and Legion she concentrated on those appearing in the hallway beyond. When no more could be seen, she took point and moved cautiously through the door into the hall.

"Reinforce outprocessing…Shepard is loose!" Kuril demanded.

She could hear men talking from the S-Max hallway on her left. She darted to the far side of the hall entrance, peered around the corner and sent a shockwave down the hallway to distract the guards advancing on them. When the hall was cleared she charged a guard that had just come through the door at the end of the hall, Kolyat put a bullet in his head as he walked by him. Guess he had only been mostly dead. Better a bullet in his head than one in my back. "Thank you, Sweetie."

As she opened the far door a technician aimed a gun on her and began radioing for assistance. "Shepard is-"

She wrapped him in a stasis field and shoved him out of the way. "No longer your concern." She heard a gunshot, but didn't look to see who took the immobile man out. She moved to the console and looked out the window to the cryo hold.

"Overriding the security interface will open all cells in this block. No alternative options evident." Legion informed them.

"Legion's correct. It's the only way to get Jack out of Cryo." Kolyat agreed.

"Be ready…Things are about to get much more… interesting." At least it will distract the guards and give them something more to shoot at than us.

"I'm always ready for you, wife." Kolyat said suggestively.

"Not that interesting, love." She said as she overrode the security controls.

Alarms started going off and three YMIRs began to activate as massive mechanical arm locked onto Jack's cryo chamber, the locks gave away with a hiss, and it rose from its storage slot. A bald, very tattooed woman came into view clothed only in pants and a belt covering her nipples. Interesting.

"Jack is smaller than her reputation suggests." Legion said with a flap of his brow plates.

"Have to agree with you on that one. Kolyat said surprised. And damned if my eyes aren't screaming to be plucked out."

"Don't even think about it...I love those eyes." She said softly.

"Then for you I shall keep them, no matter the abuse they suffer."

Jack was coming out of cryo a lot faster than she'd expected. Her fingers twitched, and then she gasped, her eyes shooting open. She began to struggle, her hands breaking free from the cuffs that restrained her. She tore at the collar around her neck until it broke open. She fell forward, her hand going to her head as she shook it. Her eyes popped open and she noticed the advancing YMIRs. She yelled and launched herself out of the chamber, drew her arm back and shot a massive wave of energy at the YMIRs. Explosions could be seen, but Jack had disappeared from view.

"Situation chaotic. Decisive action required." Legion warned.

"We have to get down there, ange."

Damn…should have already been down there, instead of watching it all play out. They moved through the door and followed the hall to the room Jack had been stored in. She scanned some salvage from one of the downed YMIRs and followed Jack's path of destruction. A mechanical voice stated warnings over a loudspeaker about the sectors that were opening and the destruction that was occurring. They could hear gunfire.

"Violent conflict in progress. Recommend rapid advance." Legion stated.

"She won't be able to handle them all on her own." Kolyat concurred.

"All guards! Restore order! Lethal force authorized! But don't kill Jack! Techs! Lockdown! Lockdown!" Kuril ordered.

The halls finally emptied into a large room. Fires, broken girders, and blood everywhere. A massive, mechanical arm crashed to the floor in front of them.

"A high level of damage for a single organic." Legion said with another flap.

"Arashu be our shield. This is…excessive."

They darted for a bridge spanning a depression between two sides of the room. It was an excellent sniper vantage point. The steel enforced railing provided safe cover. She nodded to her team. "Take a knee, gentlemen."

"All prisoners return to your cell blocks immediately or I'll open every airlock on this ship!" Kuril warned.

Kolyat and Legion saw her drop to her knee, Viper in hand and they followed suit. They began a game of pop goes the weasel. Anything armed got popped. Everything was armed. She turned her attention to the slowly advancing YMIR. She shot drain charges and warp bombs at it. She ducked, barely missing a rocket that shot past her head. She picked up one entrenched guard taking potshots at them and threw him into the YMIR; the YMIR turned its guns on the attacker, until he was a pile of steaming meat. She drew her Arc when it was close enough and blasted the thing. She sent two more Arc charges and exchanged it for her Viper. The men joined in to take it down.

"Imminent explosion!" Legion warned them.

Kolyat shielded her as it blew. Debris rained down on her barrier bubble. No matter how capable she was, he was never going to stop trying to protect her. But she loved that about him.

The blaring alarm was hurting the hell out of her ears.

"Shepard, the warden has locked down the area behind you. You must find another exit route." EDI warned her.

They crossed the bridge to the other side and proceeded further into the large room. Shepard looked down at one of the mangled guards. "Looks like this guard got swarmed by prisoners using improvised weapons. He never had a chance."

"The guards are heavily outnumbered without the force multiplier of automated security systems." Legion stated.

"We've seen the abuse of power here. The prisoners are seeking revenge." Kolyat shook his head solemnly.

"I think they should all be put down, prisoners and mercs alike. If these people are so vicious that normal prisons are not enough then the galaxy is better off without them. The warden and guards are no better, extortion, slavery, and violence. This needs to end." She said. A brief glow surrounded her and vanished.

"In cases like this, the cure is as bad as the disease." Kolyat said in agreement.

"It's not like I'm going to destroy this ship and everyone in it…I just think it would be better if it were destroyed." Another brief glow emanated from her. She looked down at herself and then at her husband. "I'm not doing that. Not sure why I keep busting a glow like that." A picture of Samara, glowing, on bended knee making a vow surfaced in her mind. Her mouth fell open. "Oh, god…I think, like Samara, that I may have just made a vow."

Kolyat gave her a worried look. "Maybe the pregnancy is affecting your powers. You're due for a checkup anyway, ange. We'll have Dr. Chakwas examine you when we return to the Normandy." Kolyat rubbed his hand against her cheek and pulling her in for a brief kiss.

"Warning! Power plant damage has led to overload. Core system failure is imminent." The ship's VI warned.

She nodded moving to another downed guard, hacked a datapad her lootdar directed her to and headed out the door at the far end of the room.

"Lock down at Blocks 4, 7, & 8." The VI informed them.

She grabbed some more Arc ammo she located in a chest, grabbed some medigel, and followed the hall around to an exit door. As they entered the next room they could hear gunfire. Shepard ran through a massive puddle of blood and ducked behind a crate. Guards were firing from the ground and from a raised walkway on the other side of the room. She plucked one unlucky guard from the walkway and slammed him into to the floor below.

"They hull has been breached in sectors 12, 14, and 30. No survivors." The mechanical voice stated.

They moved together down the lower middle floor. As they approached the underside of a walkway bridge two guards began firing at them. She raised both her arms, widened them and then brought them together with a loud smack. The two guards slammed into each other. The men took them out before they could get back up on their feet.

Protective cover shields popped up from the floor under the bridge. Better late than never, I suppose. A guard jumped up and began shooting at them from a cover further down the floor. She picked him up and threw him in the direction of the advancing YMIR. A thunk and answering spray of bullets assured her she'd scored a hit. While the men were busy with the guards, she darted around the other side of the bridge; she pulled her Arc, shot three charges at the YMIR, and then swapped for her Viper. She aimed at the head of the YMIR. She got off two shots and had to dodge a missile. When the spray of bullets ended she ducked low and ran behind a massive crate. She peered around the side and got off a couple of more shots.

Kolyat noticed when she took off. He'd kept one eye on her and one on the guards. When he realized what she was doing, he threw a couple of warp bombs at the YMIR to distract it. It allowed his wife to get in a couple of more head shots. When the YMIR returned its attention to his wife, he aimed his incisor and shot so many rounds into its head that it disintegrated. The YMIR blew up taking three hapless guards with it. He smiled when he heard her say, "Thanks, honey."

"Find Jack…Full alert! Find Jack!" Kuril demanded.

She ran back around the bridge and joined her husband and Legion in the middle of the center depression. She flung a singularity at some men behind cover on the far right of the room. It sat there, looking pretty, but doing nothing. What the hell? She sent a shockwave at them that made them pop up into view. She and Legion mowed them down while Kolyat kept the guards on the far back upper ramp distracted.

Her shields went down and she was getting weak. Resigned, she held her hand up towards one of the guards on the ramp, apologized to him and drained him dry. He screamed and spouted blood like leaky faucet. When he fell she thanked him for his donation and wished him a peaceful sleep. Then she amped and charged the final guard on the ramp. Apparently, Kolyat had the same idea and she slammed into him instead. Thankfully, she noticed in time to pull up without hurting him. He wrapped his arms around her and dipped his mouth to hers before releasing her. "Now, let's go find Jack."

She headed through the door. Grabbed some medigel, more ammo, and hacked a safe.

"All guards, to Cell Block one!" Kuril ordered.

The hall wrapped around a wall and they entered into another large room. Stacks of crates, dead prisoner bodies, and shield generators everywhere. They took cover behind some crates.

"You're valuable, Shepard. I could have sold you and lived like a king! But you're too much trouble!" Kuril said moving his hands out wide to the side. "At least I can recapture Jack." He said, firing from the hip in her direction.

"That's just not going to happen, Kuril. You're a two-bit slave trader and that's going to come to an end." A golden glow flashed briefly.

"I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to. This is for the good of the galaxy!" Kuril shouted and opened the shield generators, protecting himself behind a barrier.

"In the right hands, I'd have to agree with you. But _not_ in your hands." She said as she darted up the far ramp. She reaved the guards standing there and pulled out her Viper. She took down a shield generator. She spun around, ducked behind the railing and took out the second shield generator in the middle. She sent out another reave wave, while wrapped in its protective cocoon she stood, took aim at the far shield generator and blasted it to hell.

Kuril's barrier shield dropped. Bingo. He didn't move from his fortified position, but that was a good thing. With his sentinel armor he was going to be harder to bring down than his lackeys. When several guards gathered along the far wall she pulled out her Arc and tasered them. She charged the next cover and ducked behind it. She sent her last Arc bolt into Kuril. She snapped it to her back and pulled off her Mattock. She lifted a guard she saw duck behind cover and threw him at Kuril knocking them both down. Then she charged to a closer cover shield and ducked behind it. When the guard got back to his feet she threw him towards Kolyat, who filled him full of holes.

"Thoughtful of you, wife. To send me gifts."

Kuric scoffed. "A human and a drell married?"

"She is my wife and my lifemate." Kolyat said in a quiet, cold voice as he advanced on the turian.

He took in the scene around him, noticed his men were all down. He looked from Shepard to the drell and saw the truth of his death in their eyes. But he couldn't stop his mouth. "That's impossible."

"I do not know the meaning of impossible." Shepard said as she passed between her husband and Legion. "But what I do know is that your time here is finished." She smiled at him as a golden blue glow encased her.

Kuril stood there stunned. Kolyat raised his incisor and blew his head off.

She turned around to face her husband, folding her arms across her chest. "I was going to do that."

"I know." Kolyat said quietly. "But he threatened you...and that I will not tollerate."

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Let's find Jack. EDI do you know where Jack is?"

"There is someone near the docking port. That may be Jack." EDI

When they entered the docking port Shepard noticed a guard at Jack's back had taken a bead on her. She held her arms out, amped, pulled one arm in quickly and raised the other up fast and down faster still. The man smacked into the ceiling and then slammed into the ground with a jarring thud, his bones shattered. The gun flew by Jack's head, landed in Shepard's hand. She spun it and snapped it to her lower back.

Jack looked back at the dead man; she watched the gun fly to the woman. She saw the golden glow. Her mouth dropped open then snapped closed. "What the hell are you?"

"I'm a woman Jack, just like you."

"You are _nothing_ like me. What the frak do you want?"

Her husband bristled. She put a hand on him and sent waves of calm. "I just saved your ass."

"He was dead already. He just didn't know it."

"My name is Shepard. I'm here to get you off this ship. I want you as part of my team." Stars. Did she really just say that?

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus." Jack said coldly.

"Look at who I'm with. Do I look Cerberus? Do they? I'm using Cerberus to take down the Collectors. Then I will take down Cerberus." A golden glow flashed out and faded. "I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy."

"There is a high statistical probability of death by lethal force. A beheading is also likely." Legion stated.

"Legion is correct, walk the path of caution." Kolyat said in agreement.

Jack looked out at the Normandy and then back at the woman. She shook her head. "You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?"

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "This ship is going down in flames. I've got the only way out. I'm offering to take you with me. And you're arguing."

Jack's eyes narrowed. She knew she didn't have a choice, but she was never one to go down without a fight. "Look, if you want me to come with you, make it worth my while. I bet your ship has lots of Cerberus databases. You want me on your team? I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me."

"I'll give you full access. Just let me know what you find." Another golden glow flared out and died. Damn glow. I feel like I'm shorting out.

Jack looked at the woman for a moment. The woman kept glowing like a fucking candle. She also felt a bit more at peace in her presence and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. One thing she did know was the woman was powerful. She could feel her power like a buzz going through her. She wasn't convinced the woman could be trusted, but going down with the ship did not feel like a healthy alternative. Jack sent her a hard look. "You better be straight up with me."

"There is nobody more honorable than my wife." Kolyat said with a small head bow.

Jack raised her eyebrows. "Your wife?" She was married to a drell? Definitely not a Cerberus kind of thing. Hell, it's not even normal.

"I'll explain it to you once we are off this hunk of junk." Shepard said with a smile.

Jack stood frozen for a minute. Damn! Megaton kilowatt. Who the hell is that woman? Or _what_? Jack was pretty sure she was going to be in for the ride of her life. She just wondered if she would make it out alive. "So why the hell are we standing here?"

She looked at her team. "Move out."

Jack took one final look out the window at the Cerberus frigate. Back into the belly of the beast. But this time she was no sniveling little girl. If they tried to back her in a corner…she'd take them all down. She hoped it didn't come to that. She wasn't sure if she could take out Shepard. But she would make her regret the betrayal.

Once aboard the first stop was the debriefing room. Miranda held her head up and strutted back and before turning to face Jack. Shoulders back, hands behind her back at military rest. "Welcome to the Normandy, Jack. I'm Miranda, Shepard's second in command. On this ship we follow orders."

What an arrogant little prissy bitch. "Tell the Cerberus cheerleader to back off, Shepard. I'm here because of our deal."

"Miranda will let you into the system. Let me know what you find."

"Hear that precious? We're going to be friends. You, me and every embarrassing little secret." Jack said smugly. "I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic. Keep your people off me. Better that way." She warned as she headed out the door.

Shepard looked between Jack's disappearing figure and Miranda who was shaking her head. This was going to be interesting indeed.

She hit the tech lab to check on the research she'd scanned and then asked EDI where Jack was.

"She's down in the engineering sub-decks, Shepard."

"Thank you, EDI."

She dropped her armor off at the armory for a detailing. And hit the mess for some nutri-paste to take the edge off her hunger. She was going to have to eat more soon. Nutri-paste was better than nutri-bac bars, but she sure wouldn't want to live on either of them. Now to check on our newest guest. As she descended the stairs to the sub-deck, she looked around at the sparse and cramped area. No one should have to live down here. She spotted Jack sitting on a make shift cot. "Hi, Jack. Have you learned much about yourself?"

"I'm still finding out about me. Thanks for letting me look at these files."

"What have you found so far?"

"Your friends at Cerberus are into some nasty things. I'm going to find something I can use. I just know it."

"What if the answers aren't what you expect?"

"I'm not looking for answers. I'm looking for names, dates, places."

"What do you intend to do when you find what you're looking for?"

"I go hunting. Anyone who has screwed with me pays. Their associates pay. Their friends pay. The galaxy is going to be a lot emptier when I'm done."

"What's your history with Cerberus?"

"They raised me in a research facility. I escaped when I was a kid." Jack said as she walked away from Shepard. "Been on the run ever since. And they've been chasing me ever since. But soon, I'm going to chase them." She said matter of fact and turned to face Shepard as if daring her to say something.

"You think about this a lot." Shepard said crossing her arms.

"I go to sleep with this. I wake up with it. Everyone I've killed I pretend it's the ones that did this to me." She admitted as she returned to her cot.

"I'll let you get back to your files. Any dirt on Cerberus you find let me know." This woman was serious cracked. But Shepard could feel the pain beneath the edge…and that she could work with.

"Yup."

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 22

The Gift of Greatness

Shepard stopped by the CIC and plotted a course for Aeia, in the Alpha Draconis System. They were going to check out the Hugo Gernsback distress call for Jacob.

Shepard commed Samara. "Do you have a moment? I have something I need to ask you."

"Of course, Shepard. You are always welcome. Come on over."

Shepard sighed in relief. She wasn't sure who else to ask. She was going to talk to Chakwas later, but she hoped Samara might be able to shed some light, or barring that at least tell her how she went about sealing her vow.

She was wigging out a little about how her powers kept lighting up like a Christmas tree. When Shepard walked through the door, Samara released her meditation and rose to face her.

"What can I do for you, my friend?"

"I need to know how you made your vow to me. Or at least how you sealed it. Did you have to force the seal or did it just happen on its own?"

Samara gave her an odd look. "When I vowed to follow your code…your morals, it was a conscious choice. I had to force the seal." When she noticed Shepard's crestfallen look, it worried her. "Has something happened?"

"I guess I was hoping it occurred naturally. Now I don't know what's going on. When I went in to acquire Jack, my powers started flaring on their own whenever I stated something I felt strongly enough about. I remember saying the warden and guards were no better than the prisoners and that it needed to end. My powers flared. Then I said that the Purgatory prison ship needed to be destroyed. My powers flared again and a picture of you making your vow to me flashed into my head. I told the warden his time there was finished. It happened again. Outside of the one time they flashed warning me something was about to happen, those were the only times they amped on their own. Of course, the ship was destroyed and everyone died…though I'm sure that would have happened regardless…but, well…there it is."

Samara turned around and gazed out the window at the stars streaming by as she absorbed what Shepard had told her. It did seem very similar to what happened when she made her vow to Shepard. But for vows to seal on their own like that…that could be very…dangerous. She had never heard of it happening before, but then she'd never met anyone like Shepard before. Shepard was very powerful…and if she didn't have complete control over her power, it stood to reason that such a thing could occur.

Samara turned around slowly to face Shepard. "What you have told me concerns me. It does sound a lot like sealing a vow. If you do not have complete control over your power and you felt strong enough about something, then speaking such thoughts could feasibly cause them to seal on their own. If that is the case, then you need to be very careful what you say out loud lest you call it into being. Because you could conceivably bring about, even unintentionally, the completion of the vow that has been sealed. I do not know why this is happening to you now when it did not before. Perhaps the babies are strengthening your power. Perhaps there is another reason. Maybe the doctor can shed more light on this that I can. But until you can control it, be very careful of what you say, my friend."

Damn. That did not bode well. She was used to saying exactly what was on her mind. "Can you help me to control it?"

Samara gave her a startled look. "I do not know, Shepard. You are an enigma. But I would be willing to attempt the harnessing." Shepard's answering smile made her insides sing. Sometimes her feelings for the young human made her a trifle uncomfortable. It had been a very long time since she'd allowed herself to get this close to another. Nothing would ever come of those feelings; she would never act on them. But she knew if Shepard ever needed her, she would be there.

"Thank you, Samara!" She said as she pulled the matriarch in for a hug and a brief kiss on her lips before stepping back. "I will get with you on a time very soon. This isn't something that can wait, but right now I have to check in with Chakwas."

Samara smiled as she watched her friend leave. When she had first joined the crew, she had been a bit unnerved by Shepard's more demonstrative nature, but had quickly come to accept it and even found herself craving it. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her and it had awakened a part of her heart that she had thought long dead.

"EDI let Chakwas and Mordin know I'm heading to the med-bay and let Kolyat know he can meet me there if he's not busy."

"Of course, Shepard."

"Thank you, EDI."

Shepard was already stripped and on the table when Mordin and her husband walked in. He went immediately to her side and gave her a kiss. She released the barrier bubbles in her womb.

Chakwas pulled the scanner arm around and positioned it as Mordin programmed it. A holo of her body appeared and Mordin zoomed in on the babies. Oh stars…you see the differences between them now.

"We are going to focus on the dextro baby first and take measurements, because its physical development is more of a concern. Then we will do the same for the levo baby. We'll finish with the lab work." Chakwas informed them.

Chakwas moved the scanner to a more precise location and Mordin zoomed in further until all you could see was the dextro baby. Skin was transparent. Faint plating could be seen on the dextro baby's face; it had lips and closed cheeks. The mandibles appeared to be set behind the skin and were diminished in size. Nose was raised only slightly more than a turian's. But otherwise looked turian except for tiny nostrils. No ears could be seen. Faint plating could be seen on the chest, back, neck and at shoulders. It had three fingers and a thumb. It waved its hands and made fists, fingers appeared to be in working order. Everyone was surprised to see it suckle its fingers. That was a very human thing to do. It was primarily head and belly at this point, so it was hard to see just how belly and hips were going to turn out. What can be seen of the legs thus far looked turian, with standard two toed turian feet. Thank god for gene therapy. They watched the highlighted areas change as different parts of the baby was measured. Special attention was paid to the developing organs. Its heart beat fast and correct.

Shepard felt a cold chill over her heart and then over her womb. She was glad he could be here to see this.

Chakwas then adjusted the scanner to focus on the levo baby. Skin was transparent but had faint darker areas that would later develop into diminished drell striping. There were faint drell head ridges, eyebrow ridges, faint diminished forehead markings, and a very drell appearing nose, nostrils flaring only the slightest bit. Eyes appeared to be full drell. Cheek and throat patches were very diminished with no cheek crests at this time. Her voice box was developed and drell in nature. Tiny ear shells could be seen…though they would never be as large as human ears. Full lips with a faint bisecting line. Belly and hips normal for human or drell. Her hands had five separate fingers, though the two normally fused on a drell were fused to the first knuckle. The doctor stopped the scan and punched in a new command and the picture zoomed to view the fingers up close. She nodded and spoke quietly to Mordin who bobbed his head quick in agreement, and then the picture zoomed back out again. The baby tugged on its fingers and tried to suckle both hands at one time. The legs were developing some muscle and seemed normal for drell or human. The feet were correct and two toes next to the pinkie toe were completely fused as drell toes were. Highlighted areas began to flicker as measurements were made. Developing organs were functioning and normal for either species. Heart beat fast and true.

Shepard felt another cold chill over her heart and womb. She's precious, Thane. "Send pictures of the babies to my OT." Chakwas nodded.

When a the scanner screen popped up displaying data, the doctors zoomed out on the babies so the parents could see both side by side again and they excused themselves for a moment to analyze the data.

Shepard's hand felt crushed. He was so enthralled seeing their babies he was squeezing the life out her hand in excitement. But, she couldn't blame him, his was probably just as sore as hers…she was surely doing plenty of squeezing right back. It was incredible to see such precise detail. The babies were kicking and doing somersaults.

"Do you feel the baby's movements yet?" Kolyat asked, not taking his eyes from the holo.

"No, not yet. Though I imagine it won't be much longer."

They chatted happily between each other pointing out things they saw or movements the babies made. Neither had a dry eye….it was just too emotional.

The doctors finally returned. The babies are doing fine. There is just one thing I wanted to point out. Mordin zoomed in on the levo baby's fingers. Until only the hand was seen and it was adult in size. "You will need to make a decision regarding the baby's fingers. The baby has full blood flow to both digits. In drell the veins and arteries are shared. They cannot be separated without a lot of reconstructive surgery. That is not the case with your baby. You can leave the fingers as they are, or you can choose to have them separated so that the baby can have full range of motion. If you choose to separate them, it will be done in womb next week. I'd rather do it before the baby feels much pain."

Shepard spoke with Kolyat. She felt a cold sweep on her right cheek. They both agreed it would be in the baby's best interest to have the corrective procedure done.

"Good to hear. Another thing we need to discuss is gestation. Your babies are 12 weeks along. The levo baby is gestating faster than the dextro baby. The drell have a shorter gestation cycle and the baby will be delivered sooner. We will keep a close eye on its development, but I would recommend a cesarean delivery when the time comes. If you choose a natural birth we may not be able to prevent the dextro baby from being born. If we can stop it your cervix will have to be sealed and you will be placed on bed rest until it is ready to be born."

"I don't even need to think about that one doc…cesarean it is. I'm surprised you even mentioned the natural option."

"I'm just being thorough, child. Laying everything on the table. And since the levo baby is developing faster, would you be interested in knowing the sex of the baby?"

"It's a girl, doc."

Chakwas and Mordin looked at each other.

"Woman's intuition?"

"Are you aware of the dextro baby's gender?" Kolyat asked.

"Not yet, it's too soon to tell. Maybe in two or three weeks."

"Do you want to know?" She asked her husband.

"Absolutely." He said squeezing her hand.

"She's a girl too."

Kolyat smiled. Two sweet baby girls. "Garrus?" He asked quietly.

"Thane told me first." She whispered back.

"I'm not sure how you know that, and I guess I don't really want to know...but Commander…I don't suppose I need to tell you it's time to give up the uneven bars until the babies are born?"

"I had them folded up and affixed to the wall a couple of days ago. It was sad to do it, but it feels like I have a hard softball in my gut and it was becoming uncomfortable."

Chakwas smiled and nodded. "You do have a hard softball in your gut, and it's getting bigger by the day. You can continue to use your balance beam, unless it too becomes uncomfortable. And you can continue to spar, though keep the hits to the arms and legs from here on in. You will also need to buy a larger chest plate for your armor or go with an armored leather or other more pliable material."

"Yeah, I noticed that the last time I suited up. Thought maybe I'd been eating too much."

Chakwas chuckled and started laying out the needles. "Are you ready to get the lab work done so you can get out of here?"

"Bring it on, doc."

Kolyat tried to distract her from what was happening. He told her about the Hanar homeworld. About the small land settlements and larger sea cities that the hanar built to house the drell. He explained about the underwater sea cities the hanar inhabited. How the hanar danced in the water, creating light shows and beautiful music that sounded like bells.

When the doctors had flushed and refilled the membrane with amniotic fluid and the nutrient-gene therapy mixture, they took their collected samples and headed to Mordin's lab, leaving the pair alone.

Kolyat ran his tongue along the blood trail from the needle, removing all traces of it. He flicked his tongue in her navel, then further down, running it along her low panty line, nipping a hip between his teeth. She moaned and her pheromones perfumed the air.

"I think we need to leave." Kolyat said, his voice thick with desire.

He stepped back so she could get dressed. Her pheromones wreaking havoc on his senses. She held out her hand, Kolyat grabbed it and they lit out of med-bay like it was on fire…or perhaps they were. They shot to the elevator and Kolyat shivered from the chills that danced along his spine. He embraced her head with his hands and turned her towards him for a kiss as the door was closing. As the doors opened on their floor, a trail of clothing began dropping to the hallway behind them.

As they lay in each others arms, sated for the moment and savoring the aftershocks, he laid a hand against her hardening belly. She kept them merged long enough for the babies and daddies to feel each other before releasing the connection. Baby girls. They couldn't wait to meet them.

Kolyat shivered as spirits pulled out. He didn't care, he was on cloud nine…it was a soft and fluffy place to be. They were having baby girls. He'd have been happy with boys too, but girls were just so sweet. He felt closer to the babies now that he knew their gender. It made them more real. And watching her try to shove both her tiny hands in her mouth had made his heart swell with love. Shepard had saved him. She had changed his life in so many ways…he was so full of love he could burst from it.

"Kolyat, I wanted to find out if you were okay. I know you helped bring down a lot of people today...and it's not the same as taking down geth. I worry - "

He put a finger over her lips to still them. "Ange, those people threatened you. I would take out anyone who tried to hurt you and not think twice about it. So, no ...the experience did not scar me in anyway. I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine." He pulled her into his arms. "My life...our life, it is a dream come true for me. Keeping you safe is ...I will do _anything_ to keep you safe. You are my heart and soul, ange. I love you." He brought his mouth to hers in a searing kiss.

Later that evening Shepard as sent the holo pictures of the babies to Solana & Rojik. She congratulated them on their graduation and sent their love and their best wishes. She then sent the pictures to Torlin and Julsie.

She looked over at her husband who was busy with a report at his terminal. "Oh loverboy..." He looked over at her and cocked an browridge at her playfulness. "Come here, loverboy..." she said crooking a finger at him. "Take me to bed or lose me forever..."

Kolyat raised both his browridges, stood up and gave her a slow double blink. "That would be a travesty." He said as he began to pull off her clothes.

The days following the entrance into the Alpha Draconis System were nearly perfect. They were bordering the Rosetta Nebula. A couple of more days would see them to Aeia. She was continuing her beam workouts and her sparring. She had to fight to keep her husband from being too easy on her. The lighter he sparred, the heavier she did. She needed to stay in top form. If he was going to be too prissy to drop her to the mats, she was sure going to take him down and hard. He finally picked up his stones when she threatened to find new sparring partners. He knew no amount of hard glares or threats would keep others from sparring hard, because the crew feared her far more than him.

She'd also been able to get through the first five Star Wars movies with Kasumi and few others. The movies were pretty good, but funny. It was neat to look back on what humans imagined aliens would look like. Five down seven to go. Jedi were an interesting concept. A life built on saving those in need and protecting the galaxy from the evil that threatens it. Kind of rings a bit of a bell.

But damn if she didn't want one of those lightsabers. Such a weapon could never exist, since the laser created by the crystal would go on forever rather than come to an end two or three feet from the hilt. But if such weapon could exist she'd be all over it.

She had commed Legion and had him meet her at his quarters. He liked to spend his time down in engineering.

She needed her omni-tool upgraded and since her OT was camouflaged, very few knew it was a bracelet rather than an implant. But she trusted Legion completely. He had been surprised when she had taken it off camouflage mode so that he could look at it. The OT could not be removed from her wrist without losing her hand. It could be interfaced via terminal, her armor or by touch. She knew the precise location of every unseen button. She wanted Legion to increase the memory and improve the recording functions.

When the work was completed she had thanked him with a hug and a kiss to his faceplate. She wasn't sure when he had started returning her hugs, it was certainly an un-geth like thing to do, but this time he did not release her right away.

"Shepard Commander, I-" He stopped midsentence and froze.

The use of 'I' had been startling. Apparently to him as well. She wondered if he might be becoming a little more self aware.

He looked down at her for a long moment as if he were deep in contemplation or computing something and then released her. "We want to thank you for trusting this unit and allowing us to be a part of your mission."

She put a hand to his faceplate and rubbed it. "Legion, you are more than some _unit_ to me. I trust you completely. You are my friend. To me you are a man…a he…not an_ it_. You are an_ I_ not a we…that is how I see you." She put a finger to his flashlight as if to shush him. "I know you will see that as illogical, and I don't care if it is. To me you are an individual. You are unique…you are special…and I love you." She pulled his head down and kissed his flashlight. "Thank _you_ for helping to save me, for finding me again and for joining me. You have honored me and you will always have a place in my heart."

Legion flapped his plates a few times. "Acknowledged," he said softer than usual. Legion watched Shepard depart. It continued to flap its various faceplates. The programs within the platform were a bit unstable at the moment. They were trying to process Shepard Commander's words. And what those words made it feel. It was the feel part that was working the processors overtime. It felt more and more the longer it was away from the consensus…or more precisely Shepard Commander made it feel. It could not understand why it had used Shepard Commander's armor to repair itself. There had been a lot of armor in better condition that it could have used. But it had wanted only hers. It felt _good _that Shepard Commander saw this platform as a person, an equal, a friend…that she loved it and was honored by its presence. It felt…it felt…it felt. It did not know how to process all that it felt. But it did know it would do anything for Shepard Commander.

"ETA 19 minutes out of Aeia, Commander."

"Thank you, Joker."

"EDI have Jacob and Mordin meet me at the shuttle in 15."

"Right away, Shepard."

Shepard sighed. Her husband was not going to be happy with that call. But a ship had crashed down there. If there were any survivors they may be in need of a doctor. It was standard Alliance protocol to have very small teams for stealth and deniability purposes…but this wasn't a standard mission and stealth wasn't needed. So—

Her husband greeted her in the hallway in front of their cabin when she stopped off the elevator.

"Ange, I should be with you." Kolyat said before he could even reach her side.

"Then gear up."

Kolyat gave her a stunned look. He hadn't expected her to capitulate.

She smiled at his shocked look. "It will not always be this way, you have to know that. But this mission is a little different, we may find nothing but bones and if there are survivors a doctor will be needed. We are not expecting resistance. But at least I can spend time with you…and you will make nice eye candy." She said with a laugh as she walked into the cabin.

She was struggling to fasten her armor. "I need a little help here." She said swiping her hand through her hair in frustration.

"What's wrong, ange?"

"I'm too fat for my armor…I need help fastening it." She said with a blush.

Kolyat frowned. He took her hand, pulled her into his arms and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled back far enough to look deep in her eyes. "You are not fat, ange. You are pregnant with our beautiful daughters." His hands trailed down her sides as he lowered himself into a squat. He kissed the hardness of her belly and hugged her close. She rubbed her hands over the ridges of his head. It felt so good when she did that. He sighed in contentment and then picked her armor up off the floor. He placed it against her and hugged her tightly.

Shepard fastened the armor while Kolyat hugged it closed. She pulled back and winced. "This is uncomfortable," she said rubbing her armor encased belly.

"I know the feeling. My armored leather can be very constraining. At least the whole world doesn't know when you are aching to make love to your wife. I'm hard half the time I'm around you, ange…and it's not something I can hide." He said with a glance down at his straining pants.

"Only half the time?" She asked seductively, trailing her fingers down chest until she could run her palm down the length of him. "I'm going to have to work on that."

Kolyat groaned and ran a hand down his face. "You are a merciless tease."

"Tease? I think not. Tease implies I don't follow through…and I think we both know just how well I follow through." She said giving her lips a slow lick. She caught the gleam in his eyes, stuck her tongue out, laughed and she amped and charged for the door.

Kolyat charged right behind her, flung her around and slammed her up against the wall in the hall, his hand protecting her head. His mouth slanted over hers in heated, deep kiss. He reluctantly pulled back and looked into his wife's dazed eyes and swollen lips. She was so beautiful. Just one more kiss.

When he pulled away she was so sexually frustrated she could scream. "I deserved that." She said in a voice thick with desire. "Come on; let's go check out the Gernsback."

"You are not suffering alone, wife." Kolyat said fully aware no one would miss seeing his own very evident arousal.

When they made it to the shuttle Mordin and Jacob cleared their throats. They could feel the sexual tension in the air. Jacob ran a hand along the back of his neck and hopped into the shuttle before his own unexplainable arousal could be seen. He told them again what little he knew about the Gernsback. It was privately owned and funded, that's why there weren't great records on where it had gone. All he knew is that it had been sent to survey a planet for possible human colonization. It disappeared 10 years ago and had never been heard from until now. His father had been first mate.

When they stepped out of the shuttle into the bright midday sun, they took in the rocky mountains and lush jungle vegetation around them. It was a beautiful planet. The massive wreck could be seen. It lay on shoreline, but was partially submerged in the water. She forced the sight and looked over everyone's aura. She shrugged, released the sight and kissed her husband for luck.

"I have run a scan of the ship. I detect no life signs, but there may be useful technology or information still inside." EDI informed her.

They followed a rock strewn dirt path down towards the Gernsback.

"There it is. And mostly intact. They could have survived impact…but it's been years." Jacob said. He began to take inventory of what he was seeing. "Looks like it was stripped after the crash. They'd have tried to get a beacon up as soon as possible."

They could see crates and machinery parts stacked and strewn about. She a terminal that still worked. She accessed it to discover it was an officer's log. Or at least a partial log entry.

"…along with this anymore. We've done horrible things to the crew. The condition they're in, they don't understand what we're doing to them. Distract them for two seconds and they forget what you did before the bruises show. It's got to stop. I'm talking to the others as soon as-"

"Well, that was ominous. Let's see what we can find inside." There was very little left inside the portion of the ship that they could access. The flooring was canted up and covered with a pale green spongy moss type growth. She accessed a terminal on the left. This portion of the ship must have remained above tide level to be able to access the terminal at all. It was another partial log entry.

"...always said no. She even threatened a report if I didn't stop sending messages. But now she's so innocent. They all are. And that look she gives when she smiles…It's sure easier now. What's the harm? We're stuck here any-"

Shepard cringed. This was all sounding real bad. At least if you were a woman.

"Are you okay, ange?"

She looked up into his big, beautiful dark eyes that mirrored his love and concern. "I'm just disgusted by what I'm hearing. Something happened to these women. Made them lose who they were and the men…they took advantage of it. I can't imagine being at the mercy of a lot of men like…that."

"I would _never_ let that happen to you, wife. We cannot change what has occurred, but if there are survivors, we will help them."

"Wonder if women were drugged. Made compliant. Not good. A tragedy if theory correct."

Shepard located another terminal on the far right. She was afraid of what she was going to hear, but knew she had to know it all.

"…crash you can't expect the luxury of due process, but this isn't a military ship. Just bumping the command line up a notch doesn't work. Captain Fairchild knew this crew. His replacement doesn't command the same level of respect. I'm hoping the man has it in him, but I doubt-"

The final terminal she was on the right not to far from where they entered. It was a medical terminal.

"What…what was her name? Sarah? S-Suzanne? My god, I can't remember…I can't remember her face! We need to get out…so I can remember, can think straight. They have to hurry," the doctor said in solemn desperation.

They left the dank hold and the warmth of the sun bathed them once again. Her lootdar went off and she salvaged some credits she found buried amongst a bunch of spare parts.

"Repeat: Toxicology alert: Danger of rapid neural decay. Local flora chemically incompatible with human physiology." A VI voice had been alerted to their presence. "Override: Beacon resumed. Pause time, eight years 237 days, seven hours." The VI informed them.

She made her way over to the VI interface. "From the look of it, this beacon's been here awhile. Why would they wait so many years to signal?"

"There was a pause in beacon protocol, eight years, 237 days, seven hours. Pause is recorded as: RECORD DELETED by Acting Captain Ronald Taylor." The VI explained.

"That's not right. My father was first officer." Jacob told her.

"Who is in command of this ship? Where are the survivors?" She asked the VI.

"Captain Harris Fairchild reported killed following the unscheduled suborbital descent. First Officer Ronald Taylor promoted in field to acting captain."

"But where is he now?" Jacob asked.

"The location of the remaining crew of the Hugo Gernsback is unknown. This beacon has been unattended for several maintenance cycles."

"I assume _unsafe deceleration_ refers to the crash? Give me the details."

"Following an unspecified impact and sublight drive failure, the Hugo Gernsback made an unscheduled descent at 465% of theoretical recommended suborbital velocity. The Hugo Gernsback then decelerated at 782% of theoretical recommended approach velocity, sustaining significant damage to investment and crew."

"When did the beacon become functional?"

"The emergency beacon became functional after 358 days, 12 hours, following the unscheduled suborbital descent of the Hugo Gernsback. Activation was triggered remotely after eight years, 237 days, seven hours, on the authority of acting captain Ronald Taylor. Pause in beacon protocol is recorded as RECORD DELETED."

"You said local food impairs brain function? What are the effects?"

"Impairment of mental function due to chemical imbalance begins within seven days of ingesting local flora, regardless of decontamination or preparation. Impact on higher cognitive abilities and long-term memory is cumulative, but significant within a standard month. It is not known if neural decay is permanent. Data collection was not complete."

"We need to find these people. Let's go."

Jacob turned to her. "My father had a working beacon but didn't signal for nine years. Maybe…that neural decay affected him."

"Shouldn't eat local flora. Probably had no choice. Inevitable after that long." Mordin said bobbing his head.

"True…I doubt the food stores would have lasted very long." Kolyat agreed.

There were more stacked boxes to the right, so they moved off in that directions. When she'd reached the first set of stacked crates a woman jumped out at her.

"You came from the sky? The leader said someone would come! He delayed for so long, but he still has power! Some have lost faith. The hunters! They will have seen your star. They will not let you help him."

"Who are you? What was your rank on the Gernsback?"

She looked afraid for a moment…then confused. She rubbed her head. "I…can't think. The leaders think for us and we serve…so we can go home. But some want to fight him. They were cast out."

"Ange." Kolyat nodded his head to the right.

Shepard saw a man duck behind a cover.

"He exiled them, so they hunt his machines and those that help him. They don't believe that rescue will come." The woman told her.

As more men joined him the first that had approached pulled out a gun and Shepard gave the woman a gentle push to the ground and threw a barrier bubble over her. "Stay down."

"Hunters…they won't stop until the leader is dead." She said looking up at Shepard.

"Kill them! Agents of the liar! He will not escape!"

"We're not here to help him control you. We are here to rescue the survivors." She tried to reason with the man.

"Lies! Kill them all!" The hunter yelled.

She lifted him up high and slammed him to the ground. Shattered and broken. With the ring leader down she hoped the others would listen to reason. But they did not. There were only a handful of men and they went down quickly. She wished they'd believed her. It was a tragic waste of life.

"Neural decay doesn't quite cover it." Kolyat interjected.

"Worse than _neural decay_. Suspect mental instability."

"My father wouldn't let this go on. Something is very wrong." Jacob said in dismay.

She found another hidden stash of credits. She would make sure any credits she found here were distributed evenly among the survivors. She didn't trust the cleanup crews to do it. They skirted the crates and debris and followed the trail around the bend. She looked out over the cliff to the ocean below and the mountains in the distance. It was too bad this world wasn't inhabitable without terraforming…but still an option if no other sentient beings are found.

They passed a mech lying to the side of the path.

"Stripped for parts, Shepard. The tech they had with them is wearing out. Those hunters must be laying on the pressure." Jacob pointed out.

At the top of the path people could be seen.

"Is that the settlement? They'd better be friendlier than the beach group. I need answers." Jacob said in frustration. None of this made sense to him. His father might have been gone a lot. But he knew his father was not the type of man to let this happen willingly.

Mordin scanned a couple of the women they saw. "Clearly docile. Same uniform remnants as those who attacked, however."

"There don't seem to be any men here. Maybe it affects genders differently? Or did the exile make the males violent?" Shepard asked him.

"That is one possible theory. Previous female said hunters were exiled. Behavioral or gender-driven?"

"It doesn't matter right now. One of these people must know what my father has to do with this!"

A couple of women approached. One held up her hand to stop them. "You have his face! He promised to call the sky, but he sends nothing."

"He forced us to eat…to decay. You are cursed with his face!" The other woman said bitterly.

"Not the best reaction to the family resemblance, Jacob." Shepard said with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"I don't like what I'm hearing. This needs to stop." Kolyat said.

Shepard approached another woman. "I can't talk to you. I…don't want punishing."

Punishing? This is was looking worse by the minute. They looked up at some monstrous, hideous, statue-like…thing.

"What the hell? Somebody had to push them to make that. That's borderline…worship?" Jacob asked in disgust.

They approached another woman. "He keeps us. Protects us. And we please him like he demands."

Shepard hung her head for a moment. This was all so sick and twisted.

Kolyat lifted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "We will stop this indignity, ange." He said, giving her a double blink.

Well, that certainly distracted her. "Damn, Kol. You know I can't resist when you do that." She ran her hand around to the back of his head and pulled him in for a hard kiss before releasing him. She stood up straight. "That man will be lucky if I don't cut off his balls and sell them to a krogan."

She had just picked up another pile of credits when armed mechs barfed up their polite manners and attacked. A few mechs wouldn't have been a problem for any one of them…but with four of them it was a joke.

"Not familiar with a protocol that condones crew suppression via lethal force." Mordin said palming his gun.

"It's apparent he doesn't care if they hate him." Jacob replied, rubbing his head in confusion. This was not like his dad. "I need to find out why he is doing this."

A woman stopped them before the entered a narrow path between two outcroppings of stone. "You… have his face…but you fight his…machines. I hope that means you will stop this." She held up a datapad and handed it to Jacob. This…I forget how to…read, but this…was the start. What he promised and what they did to us. We need the sky. Take us back to the sky."

Jacob turned it on and began accessing the data.

"Jacob? What does it say?"

"It's a crew logbook. Some of them thought the beacon repair was taking too long. They were afraid they'd run out of supplies and lose their minds to the decay. My father restricted the ship food for himself and the other officers so that they wouldn't be affected. Everybody else had to eat the toxic food and hope for treatment later. The rest is a casualty list. A few mutinied over the decision. My father and the other officers turned the mechs on them. The beacon was fixed within a year, so the plan must have worked. Why no signal?"

"I don't know, Jacob. It sounds worrisome. Your father wasn't command material. He couldn't control them without violence."

"Unfortunate." Kolyat agreed.

Jacob looked back at the pad and continued reading the data. "It didn't stop there. More incidents… harsh punishments. It's like they are cattle. Or toys. Within a year, all the male members are flagged as exiled or dead. They separated out the women. Assigned them to officers like pets. After the beacon was fixed, the officers appear in the casualties, too...within the same week. After! My father took control and didn't stop it."

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest. "Does it say why he separated the men from the women? Or is it as bad as it seems?"

"No, it turns to gibberish. Maybe the men got violent early on, but from the state of this place, I'd say the hunter thing is recent. What he allowed to happen here, Shepard…I don't see any justification."

"This abuse of power…is unacceptable. Period." Kolyat said cryptically.

"I agree." Shepard stated crisply.

"And it looks like he only activated the beacon because the men are fighting back." Kolyat said in disgust.

"He let this happen, and now it's biting him in the ass." Jacob said bitterly. "I need to find this…man."

Several large crates blocked their path. Shepard amped her power and lifted a crate.

Kolyat turned her to face him. "Don't over do it, ange…you may need your biotic strength ahead."

"You know blowing up things is just what everyone expects from me." She said with a frown.

"Then why break protocol?" Jacob asked with a smile.

Shepard sighed. "Do you want the honors, Jacob?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"It's all yours," she said pointing to the downed mech near the crates.

Everyone else stepped back a good distance while he rigged the mech to explode and then joined them. Her husband shielded her and she put up a barrier bubble around them all. Debris bounced of the bubble and she gave them a bright smile. They all just stared at her. She looked around her. She didn't notice anything that would have captured their attention. "Did I sprout another head or something?"

"Or something." Jacob said. The men cleared their throats and laughed.

"What-" She began…

"This is Captain Ronald Taylor. Thank god you're here! My crew went insane. I only just got free."

"Goddamnit!" Jacob said in disgust. "It's really him. Just got free? He's covering his ass."

As they continued up the path they noticed something on the side of the trail. Up close they could make out the dead bodies.

"The posed corpse looks like it's been here for years. Like a warning. These others…maybe a month."

"Yes, yes…agree. Old dead left posed…a warning. Recent corpses left where they fell." Mordin said shaking his head.

At the top of the trail they could see more large crates and a fire raged to the side. They pulled their guns. Shepard amped and charged to the first large crate, and ducked behind it. Jacob pulled three of the mechs towards them. Damn but she hated when he did that. Jacob liked to fight up close, that's why he carried a shotgun. But, her? Not so much. She really needed to teach him some more moves. While the men were focusing on blowing the flying mechs, that had flown right over her head, to bits, she jumped up, put her arms together and jerked them apart, sending the last mech's head one direction, its body another. Now that was fun.

"Careful, I automated my defenses after the crew turned violent. They kept attacking. I had no choice." Ronald warned them.

"He had plenty of choices. A little late to blame his victims." Jacob said in disgust.

She charged to a large generator and ducked behind a convenient cover as mechs started coming at her from the left. Kolyat charged to her side and ducked behind the cover with her. He gave her a quick kiss, jumped up and threw a warp bomb at an oncoming mech.

Mordin and Jacob spread out, ducking behind more convenient cover. Jacob continued his pull fest and Mordin sent incendiary and cryo blasts at them.

They cleaned out that wave and Shepard darted around her cover to another one facing the trail up ahead. A new wave of mechs were coming at them from that direction. She ripped one in half, picked up two and slammed them to the ground, sending pieces of mech flying from the impact. She hopped up, following her lootdar and let her team mop of the remaining mechs.

She collected the credits and scanned some data, hoping Mordin could do something useful with it later. She turned to head back to her team and walked into Kolyat. He wrapped one arm around her and lifted her chin up with his other hand. He dropped a kiss on her lips. "I love you."

She did not deserve this wonderful man. "And I love you." Two cold chills to her heart. "I love you too."

"I had to keep them busy, distracted, but it's getting dangerous. Thank god you've come!" Ronald Taylor told them over a loud speaker.

Jacob was fuming. That this man…this monster was related to him. "He had his fun, and now he wants out. Son of a bitch."

The path further up was even more beautiful. The rocky shoreline, the mountains, the ocean, the palm trees…This planet was a paradise…if something could be done with it. The path finally came to the entrance of a compound. A couple of mechs attacked…yawn…

"It took years to train my guards. I'm afraid you'll have to fight them to rescue me." Ronald broadcasted.

"Throwing people away. This…thing…is not my father." Jacob sneered in revulsion.

Her lootdar directed her to some more credits stashed in a piece of discarded machinery. She picked up additional Arc ammo and slipped through the compound's front gate. She darted to a large metal wall and peeked around it. Primarily men.

When the bullets started flying she allowed herself to attack. Those she could find out of cover she picked up and slammed them into the ground. There was one pesky guy hiding between a tree and a bridge that none of her biotics could grab. She was about to go in after him when she heard a YMIR approaching. She grabbed her sniper, ducked out and shot three bullets at its head. She darted back behind the metal wall. A rocket detonated against the wall and it barely registered the impact. With four on one it didn't take long to bring the YMIR down. She scanned the compound. Only the one hidden man left. She headed further in. The man jumped out of hiding when he saw her and took aim. She brought her hand up and amped her power. The man toppled to the ground, a small neat hole in his head.

Kolyat charged to her side, ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her in for a heated kiss. "I wasn't even going to give him the chance, ange." He whispered into her ear. He felt her shiver in response. He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear and nibbled her lobe.

"Kol…" she moaned.

"Enough with the toys…I need to look my father in the eye and hear him try to justify this." Jacob said in outrage.

Kolyat sighed and released his wife. He looked down into her flushed face, her desire filled eyes and kiss swollen lips. He had to have more. He traced his tongue along her lips; she captured it and sucked it into her mouth. He groaned and gave into it.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "My father first, Shepard…orgy later."

Shepard sighed, ended the kiss and stepped back. "Let's do this then." She nabbed some credits from a data pad and entered the living quarters of the compound. She snapped the gun to her back and approached the lone man.

Ronald turned to them when he heard them come near. "You're here! I knew a real squad would blow through just fine. Sorry if the mechs scuffed your pads."

Shepard walked to the railing and looked out over the inlet.

"I'll get you something nice when we get back to Alliance space. I've got to have some back-pay coming." He told her.

"What about your crew, Acting Captain?" Jacob said bitterly as he looked at his father.

Ronald turned to him. "Total loss. The toxic food turned them wild. They propped me up here in some kind of ritual behavior. Waiting for a chance to signal has been hell."

"Is that how you're going to play this?" Jacob said, folding his arms across his chest.

"You let all your people talk back like that…uh…who are you, exactly?"

"I'm a Spectre. You're running a very questionable setup here, Captain. Explain."

A human Spectre? Her sense of presence made him believe her. "Of course. It was chaos after the crash, and the crew never really accepted me as captain. They rebelled and trapped us here. Once they started to eat the toxic food, I couldn't control them, and I couldn't get to the beacon."

"Just stop. We know what you did to your crew. Why let this go on for ten years?" Jacob said in disgust.

"Who the hell _are_ you?" Ronald asked in exasperation.

Jacob walked up to his father. "Taylor. Lieutenant Jacob Taylor."

Ronald was shocked. "Jacob? My Jacob?"

"Not who you expected to see, Captain?" Shepard asked drolly.

Ronald turned his head to look at her. "I was hoping not to have to explain this to him. Or anyone, really." He turned back to his son. "You have to understand. This isn't me. The realities of command, they change you. I wasn't ready for that."

"I'm not biting, Captain. At some point, you chose to do this to your crew. You." Shepard said, barely able to contain her ire. Selling this man's testicles to a krogan was looking more and more appealing.

"When was that moment?" Jacob asked his father. "I want to know that there was an actual reason."

"Ange." Kolyat said, nodding in the direction of the man who had just walked in.

Ronald turned away from his son and took Shepard's place at the railing. He couldn't bear to look at his son while telling his story. "There was resistance to the plan. Mutiny. We had to take a hard line to keep order. And things settled down. As the decay set in, we made sure the crew were comfortable. Some even seemed happier. Ignorance is bliss, right? And they were grateful for guidance, like an instinct. Pure authority was…easy. At first. Months in, the effect lowered inhibitions. They got territorial. Rank, protocol—they couldn't understand anymore. We had to establish dominance. After a while the perks seemed…normal."

Two more men had joined the first. Shepard was keeping an eye on them.

"That's it? You created a harem and played king? Ten years in a juvenile fantasy?"

"I can't point to where it all went wrong. But when the beacon was ready, revealing what happened didn't seem like a good idea.

"What happened to the other officers?" Shepard asked.

"Anders found his conscience a little late to step back. He had an…accident. Things got…tense. End of the day, I was the one with the mechs. I got a little basic setting examples, but I was kind to my people once things settled down. Seemed like I'd earned some peace."

"You fought over people like they were toys. Things." Jacob interrupted.

"You had to know this would end one day, the food from the ship couldn't last forever." Shepard pointed out.

"Dining for one can really stretch things out. Besides, I can think of a lot worse retirement plans than stripping down and joining the droolers. That was before the hunters, of course. Dumb or not, I'd feel it if they got their hands on me now. They want blood. I'd prefer to keep it." Ronald replied.

"It's all about you. Everything." Jacob could barely contain his anger and loathing of the man who sired him.

Shepard thought about sending soothing waves at Jacob, but in the end she knew he had a right to his emotions. What was done here was unforgivable. "You didn't care enough about your family to want to leave?"

"I gave him a good start. He was a smart kid and was better off not knowing me. We figured that out a long time before I took jobs in deep space."

Kolyat cringed. He knew his father had felt the same way. But his father would never had done such monstrous things.

"And, after things escalated here, it seemed best to just disappear off the galactic map."

"Until you needed someone to save your pathetic ass." Jacob said shaking his head.

"These people were treated like animals, ange. Abused animals will eventually fight back. I think a bullet would be too kind." Kolayt said, his voice filled with a quiet menace.

"We will help these people. We'll drop off a ration of food and have EDI send a message to the Alliance. They will be here soon and get everyone out of here."

Jacob pulled his gun on his father. "He's not worth the fuel to haul him out, or the air he's breathing. He's damned lucky I don't even think he's worth pulling the trigger." He lowered his gun. "I don't know who you are. Because you're not any father I remember. The man who did this doesn't know right from wrong."

"I can pull the trigger if you like…It even crossed my mind to cut off his testicles and sell them to the krogan…but I have a better alternative. Maybe we go arrange pickup for the rest of the survivors while the acting captain deals with the hole we punched through his mechs."

"Now wait. I'm supposed to get rescued. The crazy ones, you don't know what they'll do to me."

"Untrue. Intentions easy to predict. Just don't care." Mordin said matter of fact.

Jacob looked at Shepard. "My father was a different man, Shepard. A good man. Wish I'd found him." He turned his back on his father and walked away.

"Jacob?" His father cried out.

Jacob turned to face him again. "You were a better man dead. As far as I'm concerned, you still are." He walked away. This time he did not turn back.

"Jacob!" Ronald yelled in panic. He turned his head in time to see a fist with his name written on it.

When they stepped out of the compound, Shepard commed EDI. "EDI arrange to have a store of food and some fresh water sent planetside. When it's arrived, I want you to send Anderson and Hackett a comm and let them know about the Gernsback survivors that need an immediate pickup. Make sure they know of the toxic food and to send medical backup."

"Right away, Shepard."

While they were waiting on the food to be delivered, Shepard had her crew gather up some of the local food and fauna for research. She also had Chakwas and a medical team come down to help Mordin take care of the survivors. She had EDI create a Gernsback fund account and transferred the credits she had found, plus a hefty donation from her own account. She instructed EDI to have the account turned over to Anderson with the instructions to have it split between the survivors and see that he checks into any back pay they are owed.

When they got word that the Alliance would be here within a day she began having her teams pull out. She assured the survivors that ships would be here soon to pick them up. She also told them about the account she had set up so they would not have to worry about their immediate future.

They never went back to check on Ronald. When the men eventually joined the survivors, no questions were asked.

"Commander Shepard, we cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for us. We will not forget your kindness."

Shepard smiled through round after round of hugs and was finally able to make her goodbyes and return to the Normandy.

"Alliance ships are inbound, Commander. We should probably disappear."

"Don't even give them the tail lights." Shepard said in agreement.

"Roger that." Joker replied with a chuckle.

When she walked into the debriefing room, she noticed that Jacob was in a comm with TIM. They discovered that it had been Miranda and not TIM that had leaked the Gernsback information. Miranda said she'd passed along the information to keep an old promise she had made to Jacob.

"Are you okay, Jacob?"

"My father's been dead a long time, Shepard. His body just has some catching up to do. But I want to thank you for seeing to this matter and helping me to finally get some closure."

"I'm just glad I could help, Jacob."

Kolyat-femShep

Chapter 23

Bared Feelings

***Skim (don't skip - there are things you will miss) this chapter if you aren't into sizzling love…fear and uncertainty fueled them and as Garrus was wont to say, they had to blow off some…_steam_. And boy did they…If I wore glasses I'd need to wipe them. In my opinion it's best read in the triangle story arch...but if triangles piss you off, then please don't go there. LOL

Shepard stopped by the CIC to plot a course to Korlus on the Galaxy map. She hadn't realized she'd been staring off into space until Kelly touched her shoulder.

"Everything will go alright. You'll see." She said with a bright smile.

"Thanks, Kelly. I know it will. If it were me going under the knife I wouldn't give it a second thought. But she is just so tiny. One little slip and a whole finger could be taken off. Of course, I know that's not going to happen, but I'm a nervous, new mom full of worry."

"Have you talked to your husband or the doctors about your fear?"

"Hell, no. I need to stay strong for everybody."

"You know, your husband may be having the same fears as you do." Kelly pointed out with a worried look.

"I know. And if he talks to me, I'll probably just…try to cheer him up. I know he doesn't expect me to stay strong with everything. I'm only human." Shepard stopped for a moment and then chuckled.

"Was something funny?"

"No, not really. I'm just used to being everybody's rock, waylaying fears and bolstering confidence." Shepard sighed. "If I see him before the procedure, I'll talk to him."

Kelly knew she couldn't push for more. She gave Shepard a hug and watched her walk away deep in thought. "EDI quietly comm Kolyat, have him find his wife. She needs him right now even if she can't admit it."

"Right away, Kelly."

"Thank you, EDI." Kelly returned to her console, hoping she'd done the right thing.

EDI replayed Kelly's message to Kolyat.

"Where is my wife right now?"

"She's in the rec room."

"Is there anyone in there with her?"

"Yes."

"Comm them individually and have them leave. Don't let anyone else in."

"Understood."

When Kolyat walked into the rec room he saw his wife aggressively attacking a dummy. He winced when he heard it creak. Then he noticed the dark spots on the dummy. The blood running down her legs. She was working the dummy without pads on. Why would she do that? He charged her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her powers amped, he felt them course through him. His body hummed with the energy, but he didn't let go. He felt himself go hard. She stiffened and then spun around, her eyes wild and unfocused. She yanked his head down and her mouth slammed against his, her kiss aggressive and demanding. He tasted his own blood and it seemed to drive her more wild. For whatever reasons he knew she didn't want gentleness right now and he was beyond giving it to her anyhow. Her aggressiveness had kindled his own. He nipped her tongue and suckled the small drops of blood. She ground herself against him, her kiss growing more aggressive…more wild. His control snapped. He needed her now. Clothing fell unheeded to the floor. Cold chills ran down his back.

Kolyat grabbed her face and kissed her hard, absorbing the blood in her mouth as their tongues battled for control. She keened in frustration, pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He lifted her hips and brought her down hard upon him. He tore into her tight, hot sheath.

Shepard stiffened at the initial invasion, but when pleasure overcame the pain, she cried out with it. He bit into her neck, taking in her blood, using it to fuel his aggression, his need…and she welcomed it…needed it. It was hard…it was savage…and she loved it. They grunted, groaned and cried out with the pleasure. Kolyat was emitting a deep resonance that sent ripples through her. She could already feel her body tightening, the need to release building up inside of her. When she stiffened he worked her harder. She screamed from the strength of the orgasm that shattered her.

Her orgasm and her gripping muscles were all it took. He bellowed with the force of his own climax. He erupted into her as his shaft locked them tight. His aggression and fire emptied into her as he continued to come. He bit down on her neck again, taking in more of her blood. He cradled her and gently, and eased them both to the ground to ride out the tie. He continued to suckle the wound until her body stiffened and anther orgasm rocked her. He grunted as her muscles gripped him tightly again. Her head fell forward and she bit into his shoulder, making him shiver and buck into her as she suckled the bite. She amped her power. Their bodies hummed, the pleasure could be felt by both. She continued to suckle his wound, her power flowing through them. He bucked against her cried out as he came again. His orgasm brought on hers. Damn. She didn't know she could do that. She again heard and felt the melodic resonance.

She shivered and clenched again. "Damn, I love that. Two weaknesses to use against me."

He chuckled and held her tightly. When his shaft released her and the last of the aftershocks had faded away, she disconnected them, rolled off of him and lay back on the mats. Kolyat saw the blood on her legs. He ran a tongue along her legs, removing the signs of her abuse.

When her legs were clean Kolyat worked his way up her thigh to the very heat of her. He ran his tongue through her damp folds and flicked her nub. She cried out and her hips bucked against his mouth. She merged them together again. He chuckled, grabbed tightly to her hips and moved his tongue aggressively against her. She keened out, rocking against his mouth. He slipped his fused fingers into her heat and moved them against the sensitive spot that drove her wild. He took her nub into his mouth. He suckled it gently and then began flicking it faster and harder. Then he used the flat of his tongue on her, grinding it against her. He could feel her hands on his head caressing it. It was amazing what she could make him feel when they were merged. When he felt her body begin to coil, he moved his tongue faster and harder. Her grip on his head tightened as she held him to her. He pinched himself hard and flinched. Her body stiffened and he suckled her until she screamed, her hips swaying and moving against him as she came undone. Her hands fell limply to the mats as he soothed her.

She got up on her hands and knees and pushed Kolyat over onto his back and nipped his belly. He watched his wife's hands dance over his belly and along his thigh. He felt the sting of her bite and hissed in pleasure. He felt her tongue slide from the base to the tip of him. Her hot breath flamed against his straining shaft. Her tongue flicked him before the heat of her mouth wrapped around him. He cried out and ran his fingers through her hair. The sight of her loving him with her mouth, the feel of their approaching orgasms brought him to the edge.

He moved quickly and she turned to present her backside to him. She felt her husband slide into her slowly. Her body thrummed with the deep crooning melody he was emitting. He wrapped his arm around her hips, his hand moved through her silky curls to find her swollen nub.

Kolyat was gritting his teeth, fighting to hold back his orgasm, waiting for her to finish first. He moved his fingers faster against her. He felt her body stiffen and nearly cried tears of relief. His release hit him hard and they came together, her muscles squeezing him, wringing him dry. His head fell forward, lying against her back as the aftershocks rocked him. His hands roamed up to her breasts, teasing her nipples into stiff peaks. He continued his vocal cadence. Her muscles gripping him harder in answer.

Kolyat pulled her gently to the ground, spooning her as they rode out the remainder of the aftershocks of their tie.

"Talk to me, ange" He breathed into her ear as he nuzzled it.

Shepard shivered. "I had intended to…probably. I just needed to work out some of my feelings first."

"I much prefer this method to your previous choice."

"Touché." She cocked her head listening to Kolyat's deep cadence and groaned. "Your voice is so damned sexy, I have a hard time keeping my hands off you. So unfair."

He inflated his throat. "Do you think I would use your weakness against you, ange?"

His deep melody wrapped around her and she moaned. Shepard shivered. "So unfair."

"What had you so…upset earlier?" He asked quietly.

Shepard sighed. "I was worried. I had some irrational fears about the baby's surgery. I know she needs it. I want her to have it, but the closer it got to the time, the more frightened I became. She is just so tiny. The smallest mistake and…" She shook her head. "I just needed to work out my anxiety…my frustration. I was just going to work out. Wear myself out. I'm not sure what happened. I just started taking it out on the dummy. I couldn't stop."

Kolyat slipped out of her and turned her to face him. "I've had my own fears, wife. I should have talked to you about them…but I didn't want to give you my fears. I didn't know you were having your own." He said as he caressed her cheek.

"I'll talk to you next time. I shouldn't have tried to keep it bottled up." She stopped. A slow smile spread over her face. "I must admit…I was incredibly turned on by the aggression. I like it rough once in awhile. What did you feel?"

Kolyat gave her a long look. "I don't like hurting you, ange."

Shepard cocked her head, her eyes narrowed. She heard more than he was telling her. "You liked it too…and that's not what I asked." She said matter of fact.

Kolyat's mouth dropped open then closed. The crux of it was he had liked it…he just hadn't admitted it to himself. She knew before he did. He gave her a head bow in acknowledgment. "You're right, wife. I did like it. It was…liberating. I felt very alive and visceral."

Her OT chimed. "Damn…it's time." They reluctantly got up, sorted through the clothing and got dressed.

Chakwas and Mordin were ready to begin when they walked into the med-bay. Shepard stripped and laid down on the table. Chakwas and Mordin spent a lot of time discussing the procedure with them. They knew the parents were nervous and wanted to allay their fears. There were essentially only three tools needed, a modified infant vein clamp that would hold her tiny hand immobile, a tiny divider that looked like two tiny half-tubes that would spread her fingers apart and the micro-pulse micro laser that would cut and cauterize the delicate skin. The most difficult part of the procedure was keeping Shepard anesthetized. Because she burned through locals so fast, that was not an option. So either a regional or general would be acceptable.

No thought needed. She did not want a general. The shot went into her lower back…and hot crap it wasn't pleasant and she wouldn't doubt it if she bruised her husband's hands. But within about ten minutes she couldn't feel a blessed thing…couldn't even move her legs. That in itself was scary, but at least she knew she wouldn't move during the procedure.

Three small incisions were made. Two for the tools and one for the laser. A small hole was made in the top of the amniotic sack and the clamp grabbed her little hand and pulled it up through the hole. With the holo zoomed in, the baby's hand held still, the procedure was actually surprisingly quick. The fingers sprung apart. When the hand was released it went immediately to her mouth. When they were finished a drop of medigel to the sack sealed it.

The doctors then proceeded to the dextro baby's flush and injections. When they were finished, Shepard refused medigel for her small wounds. Chakwas nodded and left with Mordin and the samples to go to the lab.

She caressed her husband's head as his tongue rolled over her belly and dipped into her small wounds. "Watching what you are doing is enticing…I wish like hell I could feel it." She said pouting her lower lip out.

Kolyat darted in and took her bottom lip between his teeth, giving it a gentle tug before claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. He helped her put her clothes on and carried her out of the med-bay. He had a stop to make before going to their cabin.

He went directly to the rec room and washed the dummy and the floor; making sure none of her blood was left behind. With a Cerberus crew it was better to take no chances. When it was spotless he returned to his wife, spread her thighs and dropped to his knees between them. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his head in her lap. Crooning a deep cadence while she caressed the ridges on his head.

"Husband," she said softly. When he looked up at her, her heart melted as she looked into his big, dark eyes. "Will you take me back to the cabin? I need to clean up and take a bath."

He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as tightly as he was holding her. In the cabin he sat her gently on the sofa and went into the bathroom to program her bath. He poured in the vanilla spice she loved. When he returned, her shirt and bra were already off. He hardened at the sight of her breasts. He would control it if he could…but he was powerless against her. He helped her remove the rest of her clothing. He picked her up and carried her to the toilet, setting her down on it carefully. He knew she liked to use the bidet after intimate moments. He gave her some privacy and tried to calm himself down.

He heard a thud and dashed back to the bathroom. His wife was lying on the floor, bright red. "Why didn't you let me know you were finished? I would have helped you," he said as he picked her up and held her to him.

"I can feel my legs a little, I thought I could manage. I hate feeling like a helpless baby."

"I would welcome any excuse to hold you. I love carrying you in my arms and I don't get to do it often enough." His mouth met hers in a heated movement of lips and tongues. He sighed and lowered her gently into the steaming water. Her hand kept hold of his shirt so he couldn't stand up.

"Join me, husband." Her voice sultry and filled with need. She could smell his desire…his pheromones and it was setting her blood on fire.

He didn't feel right about taking her in the condition she was in…but he would never deny her. Not ever. The heat and steam from the tub had intensified her pheromones and he was lost.

She licked her lips as she watched him undress. She saw his shaft jerk and looked up to see him watching her intently. She licked her lips again and he sucked in his breath. She moaned when she saw him thicken. "Get in here before I come without you."

"Gods…" he said as he stepped in behind her. She leaned back against him and his hands found her slick breasts.

His rich deep cadence lit a fire straight to her core. She turned a little so that she could reach his lips. As he deepened the kiss one hand caressed her nipple, the other slid down her slightly rounded belly and through her curls. She stiffened and cried out in his mouth as the orgasm shook her. He raised his eyebrow ridge as he looked down at her.

"I told you I was going to come without you."

"That you did. I should know better by now." He chuckled.

"I could smell you…your desire…your pheromones. Then you slowly revealed that beautiful body of yours…I felt and heard your rich tones…I was on fire. When you touched me it pushed me over the edge. I was too far gone to even merge us." She corrected that immediately and felt his love and passion course through her. "I can feel my legs again and I fully intend to ride you until you beg for mercy." She turned around and straddled his hips, slowly lowering herself down upon him.

Gods what she could do to him. He ignored the spiritual invasion and cried out with pleasure and frustration at her slow descent. "Then I will never cry mercy, I will stay inside you forever."

"My pleasure." She said and ran her tongue along his lips.

He captured her tongue as his hands rocked her against him. Her breasts slid against his chest creating a delicious friction in time with his deep thrusts. He kissed his way down her neck, nipping it and suckling the tiny wound. She leaned back giving him access to her breasts, breasts that were larger and more sensitive. She cried out as he suckled one and then the other. Then her tongue was in his mouth again and fire shot to his shaft. He could feel her tightening around him. He thrust into her harder and faster, keening his pleasure…his love in deep tones he was grateful she could hear. He felt her squeeze him hard, watched her shatter in ecstasy as she came a moment before he joined her. He hugged her close as he continued to pour himself into her.

He was so lost in his woman. She was a part of every cell in his body. He felt her bite and shivered. He wished he could reach his bond mark, the need bite...renew, ran deep. She amped her power and his body hummed, he amped his as she continued to draw from the wounds. Their biotic fields clashed with a powerful jolt and then merged… enhanced. The pleasure was so intense his testicles tightened and they came again. She collapsed against him to ride out the aftershocks. He shivered as the dead withdrew.

The next few days the squad spent a lot of time training…guns, sparring and improving biotics. With special harnesses on, they were able to work their biotics against holo enemies in the simulator. Not perfect, but these were not exactly skills they could practice on each other. She was desperate to teach Jacob how to throw or slam a body, rather than yank it into their faces… or worse if they end up being flanked by someone pulled towards them. He was starting to develop some proficiency with throwing, and he could throw pretty hard… but he wasn't so great at aiming the throw. She had tried to work with the biotics on their precision micro pulls to disarm enemies…but that wasn't working so well, so she switched to working on reave. Samara was already skilled, so she helped her work with the other biotics. Jack picked it up rather quickly. Her reave ability was light still, but there… and Shepard wondered if they would eventually regret that. Kolyat and Miranda caught on to reave quickly. Jacob was having no luck whatsoever and she thought that perhaps it may just be too aggressive for his nature. That was unfortunate, because reave could set off his pull wave and detonate beautifully. Perhaps time was all he needed. She was determined he learn the skill and once she set her mind to something...there was no holding her back. Jacob was ready to scream and had dreams of throttling his commander until the first explosion rocked the simulator. He threw his arm up and yelled at his victory. He picked Shepard up and spun her around. His lips found hers in a kiss. Her mouth was firmly sealed against him and he stilled when he realized what he had done. "Sorry, Shepard...I got a little carried away. It won't happen again." Shepard sent calming waves at her husband, who was bristling at Jacob.

"I understand the excitement of learning something new, Jacob. I'm so proud of you. You did great!"

He held his hand up and she high-fived him.

She had Jack work with Jacob and Samara with shockwaves. She wanted to build up Jack's confidence by showing trust in her ability. She had the pair work together on their reave ability under Samara's tutelage as well. She worked with Miranda and Kolyat. She also worked with everyone on endurance and speed. Eventually she focused on defenses such as self raising and lowering as well as barrier and stasis bubbles. Samara worked with Jack and Jacob on defenses and she worked with Kolyat and Miranda. Their proficiency as a well rounded biotic unit was growing exponentially.

Kolyat was determined to master everything he could. He was driven to. Nothing would keep him from being at his wife's side. Nothing. The constant supply of her blood had strengthened his biotics more than he'd ever anticipated. He was stronger and faster than all but her. He could do almost everything she could do and she would not slip away from him again.

She didn't know exactly what they were going to be facing, but she wanted everyone to be as strong as possible. She had begun giving Samara, Kasumi, and Jacob weekly shots of her blood a few weeks ago as she began to trust them. Zaeed, Miranda and Jack were a no-go. She didn't know if she would ever feel comfortable sharing information about that dangerous about herself with them. She trusted Kasumi and Samara beyond any doubts and while they didn't know why her blood was different, they trusted her enough to drink it. Jacob…he had already seen far more than most, knew some of what she could do. He accepted the offer and didn't ask questions. Tali had been taking immuno-stim boosters for several weeks to strengthen herself. She had ingested her first drop a couple of days ago. Since there had been no reaction she agreed to try a shot later today in the presence of the doctors.

Shepard tried to get Mordin in on it, but he needed to run further tests on the subjects that were ingesting her blood before he would consider it. Those in on it, including her husband, agreed, because they were curious too. So far the only thing discovered was an increase in strength and appetite as well as faster healing. Biotics also received a boost in power. No other anomalies could be found.

Shepard was already at the med-bay when Tali walked in. Because of the mask, she couldn't get a good grasp on if Tali was nervous in the slightest. She didn't act nervous, but it was still hard not being able to read someone's eyes.

Tali gave a brief look around the med-bay and then at the large needle being inserted into Shepard's vein. She stared almost hypnotized at the blood being pulled up into the syringe. She couldn't stop the shiver that went up her spine. She hated needles.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Tali?" Shepard asked in concern.

"I'm fine with it, Shepard. I think we are going to need all the help we can get. I just don't like needles." She confessed. She handed Mordin a cartridge and watched him fill it up.

"Understood, Tali. Don't like them myself…no matter how much a part of my life they've been. You should see the size of the one they jab into my belly."

Tali held her hands up and waved them…as if to ward off a great evil. "Did you have to tell me that? I'm probably going to have nightmares about being chased by a giant needle now…Thanks, Shepard."

Mordin handed her back the blood filled cartridge and she popped it into a port on her suit. Her body gave a jolt as it hit her. "Damn it, Shepard. You didn't tell me it had teeth."

"Sorry about that," Shepard said with a chuckle. "I should probably warn you about one particular side effect…"

Tali swayed towards Shepard and then froze. "No need…think I just figured it out." She took another step towards Shepard.

Chakwas scanned Tali and smiled. "No allergic reaction….that's good. Let either me or Mordin know if you develop a fever or illness in the next few days." Chakwas informed her.

"Of course, doctor. I think I need to go." She said, taking another step towards Shepard.

Chakwas looked from Tali to Shepard. "Tali," she said gently. "Perhaps your quarters are the best place for you to be until the initial effects from the blood wear off."

"My quarter, yes." Tali said moving towards Shepard. She froze. "My quarters! I think that would be best." Tali said with a nod.

"Sorry about that, Tali. It shouldn't take long to wear off. Do you need me to-"

"No!" She squeaked and then cleared her throat. "I'll be fine, Shepard." She spun around and headed for the door at a near run.

"Tali…comm Reegar. I think he will want to talk to you. Just give him a small push; that's all it will take. He likes you." Shepard said, giving her a knowing wink.

Tali blushed, thankful that her suit hid what those words did to her. She loved Shepard, maybe because she'd saved her so long ago...or maybe just because of everything she was. But she also knew nothing would ever come of those feelings. The feelings she felt for Reegar at least had a chance of maybe developing into something beautiful…if Shepard was right. And Shepard was never wrong about things like this. "Thank you, maybe I'll do that," Tali said as she disappeared through the door.

Tali hopped the elevator down to the bottom floor and made a mad dash to her clean room. When she had told Shepard she would be joining her soon on Freedom's Progress, Shepard had cleared out a small cargo area and installed decontamination and sterilization equipment so Tali would have a clean room so that she would be able to remove her suit and be comfortable. It was just one of the many thoughtful gestures that made Tali love Shepard so much. It was lonely in her room, but she had a freedom she rarely got to experience outside of the flotilla's clean rooms. Like the airlock on the Normandy, there was a small decontamination area that opened up into her quarters. Her friends could enter only if they were suited up.

The doors to her quarters opened up when the decontamination program finished. When the door swished closed behind her she popped the release on her mask and gave a sigh of relief. Getting in and out of her suit was a pain…but a very welcome one. Since she had joined Shepard's crew with only the suit on her back, Shepard had seen to it that she had a small closet filled with clothes and even an extra suit. She was stunned when Shepard had included quarian food on the menu. Real quarian food. Not having to eat the standard filtered turian nutri-paste meant so much to her. Tali had never met a more thoughtful, generous or loving person in her life.

She slipped into comfortable clothing and sighed. She commed Reegar and left a message. There was a small chime and she looked curiously at the door leading to the decontamination chamber. Nobody ever came without comming first. When the door slid open no one was there. Odd. She moved to check out the entry chamber. A small box was sitting in the middle of the chamber. She picked it up, sat down on her bed and opened it. She looked curiously at the strange item nestled in silky material. It looked something like a knife and was both hard and soft to the touch. She pushed the button and it vibrated in her hand. She laid it down on her cot and it started moving with the force of the vibrations. She hit the button again and shut it off. What was she supposed to do with that? She looked back at the box and noticed a small slip of paper. She opened it up and read the instructions and looked at the diagram. Oh my. Tali picked it up and pushed the button. Vibrations flew down her arm. Oh my. She laughed so hard she started crying. Leave it to Shepard. She now had a b.o.b. of her own.

With Shepard's blood hot in her veins, she settled back to see what all the hoopla was about. She removed her pants and lay back on the bed in nothing but her shirt. She nearly jumped off the bed at the first touch and dialed down the intensity. Ooh my. Her OT beeped just as an orgasm stole her breath away. She moved the vibrator out of sight range and sat up, flipping it on. A suited Reegar popped up on her screen.

Reegar sucked in his breath. He'd never seen Tali without her suit on. She was stunning. Her face was lightly flushed and her eyes were full of desire. He felt himself harden and tried to come to grips with what she made him feel. She was an admiral's daughter. He had no business feeling anything for her. She was way out of his league…out of his reach. "What can I help you with, ma'am?" His voice rough with an emotion he didn't want to think about.

"I told you to call me Tali, Kal"

"Yes, ma'am….I'll work on that."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes…Tali." He said softly.

"That's more like it…Kal." She said, loving the sound of her name rolling off his lips. Tali swallowed the lump in her throat. She chewed on her lower lip as she considered what she wanted to tell him.

"Can I do something for you, m-Tali?" Reegar watched her chew her lip and wondered what her lips would feel like…taste like. Now that he knew what she looked like it was going to be even harder to get her out of his mind. He'd been thinking a lot about her since their time on Haestrom. He had a lot of respect for her; she'd proven herself very capable. But he also had other feelings he didn't have a right to have.

"Yes, Kal…you can. At least I hope you can." She licked her lips nervously. Here goes nothing. I hope like hell you're right Shepard. She didn't relish embarrassing them both for nothing. But she was also not one to let life just pass her by when she could charge it head on. "Do you think you could ever see me as a woman Kal…and not just an admiral's daughter?"

Reegar was stunned. Of all the things she could have said, he would never have expected that. Was it possible she felt something for him too? How should he answer? He knew his place….or at least though he did. Should he gamble on what she might have meant by that question? What if he just embarrassed them both? What if he was taking what she said wrong?

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Kal." She said, taking his silence as rejection. "I hadn't meant to. If all you want is friendship, I'm okay with that. But you can never know unless you ask, right? So, please…forgive a woman for her foolishness. I'm glad to see you are doing well. It's been good to hear your voice, Kal. I'll let you go. Stay safe." She said and disconnected them. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. No harm done. I guess Shepard can't be right about all things.

She took b.o.b. to her small sink, cleaned it and nestled it back into the silken box. She placed the box in her bedside table. She and b.o.b. were going to become best of friends. Though thanking Shepard might prove a bit awkward. Her OT beeped. She flipped it on and found a handsome man looking at her.

"You disconnected too fast…Tali. But it gave me a chance to get to my quarters. I wanted you to be able to see the man behind the mask."

Kal! Hot damn he was gorgeous. His dark hair was short and wavy. It framed his square, chiseled face to perfection. "Wow. You're more beautiful than I could have imagined." Her hand flew to her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that. She wasn't sure who was blushing more…him or her. "Damn it. I'm sorry, Kal. I hadn't meant to say that out loud."

Kal felt the heat spread up his face. He was embarrassed at the compliment…though it pleased him that she found him attractive. "Yes, well…thank you. But you are the beautiful one…not I." He said flushing darker. "I did not think you were being foolish." He said softly. He looked down, rubbed his hand over his cheeks, and then looked back at her. "You've been on my mind a lot since Haestrom. Too much. I felt things for you I had no right to feel. I never dared to hope you might…care about me." He admitted. "But time is too short and uncertain. If you feel anything towards me, I would like to…"

Tali smiled. "I do have feelings for you, Kal." She interrupted him. "If you are willing, I would like to explore our feelings and see where it takes us."

"Damn straight I'm willing." Kal said with a smile. He turned around, dug through a cabinet and popped a canister into the port of his suit. He removed it and then inserted a second.

"Are you okay, Kal?" She said, unable to keep the concern from her voice.

"Um…yes." He flushed. "Nerve-stim pro and immunoboost pro." He admitted shyly. He probably should have waited to start them, but he had been too excited.

"I've already started them myself…" she noticed his questioning glance. Telling him about Shepard's blood was out of the question. She would never betray Shepard. She would never tell anyone. She gave him a warm smile. "A girl can be hopeful."

"Just so you know…I intend to kiss you when we meet up again. You have tormented me in my dreams for too long." Kal said matter of fact. He hoped he didn't scare her off, but he knew his feelings were written all over his face.

Tali gasped at the heated look he gave her. To see the naked longing on his face and to know that he dreamed about her buckled her knees and she sank heavily onto her bed. "You had better Kal, because if you don't …I _will_ kiss you…and I cannot promise to stop at a kiss."

Kal groaned. He could swear all the blood in his body had flooded into his groin. Damn suit wasn't made for all that she was making him feel. "As much as I may want more than a kiss, I will not make love to you until you can love me back. I will not cheapen what we have between us with anything less."

Tali's heart flipped and soared. The attraction that she'd felt for him during their trip to Haestrom, the feelings that developed the weeks they were there, the heartache she'd felt thinking he'd been killed. The elation at seeing him alive. The growing feelings and dreams she'd had since leaving him behind… Those beautiful words had sealed his fate…because she realized she did love him. "I do love you, Kal…I just hadn't realized how much until now." She admitted with a quiet certainty. She might love Shepard and had even loved Garrus before…but they could never have given her what she needed. If Kal wanted it, her heart was his for the taking. "My heart belongs to you…if you want it. But if you take it, then you better cherish it, because it can break easily." She warned him.

Kal felt his knees begin to quake and he sat down before they gave out on him. "I could never hurt you, Tali. I love you. The thought of you hurting would tear me apart. You've had my heart since Haestrom…you just didn't know it. Your captain saved us both that day. I owe her a lot."

"So do I. And I'm so very glad that she is never wrong about this kind of thing. Kal…do you have an undersuit on?"

"What do you mean? And yes, why?" He asked in confusion.

"Then take your suit off. I'd like to think you were as comfortable as I am. And what I mean is this…_Us_. She encouraged me to comm you…she knew I had feelings for you…she told me you liked me too. So, I decided to take the chance that she might be right…that you might feel for me what I felt for you. I'm so very glad I took her advice."

"Your captain sees a lot. And I owe her far more than I thought. You even have a clean room aboard the Normandy?" he asked as he pulled his suit off. Damn that was better. He was no longer crushed in that damned cup.

"Yes, Shepard has provided me with everything I could possibly want. A clean room, clothes, a new suit, even quarian food. I don't have to eat paste! Plus, she helped us find each other. She is so much more than the capable soldier she is portrayed as. There is no one alive with a bigger heart or more generous soul. She would do anything for anyone regardless what it cost her. If her husband had hair, he'd be pulling it out on a daily basis." She said with a laugh.

"You love her, don't you?" he asked quietly.

Tali was still for a moment. "Of course I do. She is my best friend. She is family to me. I will always love her. And I hurt for her. I feel bad that both of her lifemates passed away. One of them was a friend."

Kal was pretty sure that Shepard meant more to her than she let on, but he would leave it at that. She had given him her heart and he had no intention of returning it. "Wait…both lifemates? As in more than one?"

"Yeah, she had two lifemates. Both died before they could complete the bind. You met Kolyat Krios on Haestrom, he was the son of one of her lifemates. They turned to each other in their grief. I'm glad she has him to lean on. The other was Garrus Vakarian. He served with us on the original Normandy. I always knew they'd end up together. They were just so blind to how the other felt. Joker, our pilot even set up a betting pool on when they'd get together. I lost." She said laughing sadly at the memory. "I had thought about setting them each straight. Everyone could see how they felt about each other, but in the end…I didn't. She helped us find each other. If I could go back, I would change things. I would give her the gift she gave me…open eyes. They deserved more time together. She nearly died trying to save him. That is why I was so direct with you. Life is uncertain and time too fleeting to waste a single minute of it." She propped up her pillow and leaned back against the wall, resting her arm with the open OT screen across her belly so she could talk to him more comfortably.

"Damn. I'm still in shock over the two lifemates thing. Finding one is hard enough, but two? I didn't even think that was possible."

"It's Shepard, Kal…anything is possible." She said.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Though I don't envy her lifemates if they had both survived. I know I wouldn't want to share you with another man. I want you all to myself." He reached out and put his hand near her face in front of the screen. He smiled when she put her hand on his. He wished he could feel her.

"I wish I could touch you." She whispered.

Kal watched her nipples harden beneath her thin shirt. "Tali…you might want to…your shirt…it's um-"

"Bothering you? Okay. I'll take care of it."

The screen bounced around a moment and when things came back into focus Kal swallowed his tongue. Tali had removed her shirt and her breasts were thrusting towards him, her nipples puckered and tight. He felt himself swell. Damn. He was so hard he was afraid he was going to lose it. "Are you trying to kill me?" He asked, his voice strained and hoarse.

"No, but I was getting hot thinking about you touching me…about touching you. Will you take your shirt off for me? If I can't touch you at least I can have more fulfilling dreams." The screen bounced around and then settled. Tali marveled at the play of his muscles as he laid the shirt next to him on his bed. She ran her hand down the small screen, wishing she could feel him beneath her fingers. She was aching to feel him against her. Her muscles clenched. She was so close…If she could lose herself just looking at him and talking to him…what was it going to be like when he actually touched her? "Say something, Kal…anything. I'm so close to coming…just say something." She implored him breathlessly.

Kal's eyes opened wide. His shaft jerked in response and grew heavy. Damn. His woman had claws and he couldn't wait to feel them. "I want to run my tongue across your lips and taste your kisses. To feel your fingers sink into my hair when my tongue flicks over your tight nipple before I draw it deep into my mouth…oh damn, Tali…I'm going to lose it if I don't stop."

"Kal, if you stop talking I'm going to have to touch myself. I'm too close to stop it and I want _you_ to make me come."

Her flushed skin, unfocused eyes and panting breaths spoke how close she truly was. He would give anything to be there right now. "Tali, I'm so hard for you right now I can't even think straight. I want to run my hands over your body, hold tight to your hips and rub myself against your heat until you beg me to come inside you. Would you beg me, Tali?"

"Yes, Kal…yes...come inside me."

"I would push into you slowly, feeling your heat stretch around me, hugging me tightly within you." He watched as her climax took her …her head fell back, her body stiffened and she cried out with the force of it. Oh damn…His balls tightened and he cried out with his own release. He was surprised that he wasn't embarrassed by his loss of control. Maybe it was her own ease or his feelings for her, but he felt no shame over his response to her. He used his shirt to clean up and tossed it on a pile of clothes he needed to wash.

When he returned his attention to the screen he met her eyes. She looked like she had been well loved. "I love you, Tali." He said earnestly, hoping she knew how much he meant it. How much she meant to him. He melted at her shy smile. That she could be so feisty and yet still be shy was adorable.

"I love you too, Kal."

They spent the rest of the night talking about everything, from childhood to the missions they'd been on that weren't classified. When she finally fell asleep in mid-sentence, Kal continued to watch her for a few minutes. She looked so beautiful…so innocent when she slept. He heard her whisper his name and his heart swelled with love. "Sweet dreams, my love." He sighed and broke the connection so her OT wouldn't stay on all night.

He owed Shepard so much. Both for his life on Heastrom and for the woman that he loved. He never would have pursued Tali, duty and status would have kept him from doing so… regardless of his feelings for her. And he would have missed out on the best thing that had ever happened to him.


	2. Chapter 0 - PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

Normandy SR1

As she was heading to the cockpit of the ship, she heard Joker over the intercom.

"The Arcturus Prime Relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence." Joker stated.

"Commander," Corporal Jenkins acknowledged as she passed him.

"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination." Joker stated.

As she continued around the around the CIC and up the main walkway, Joker came on again. "The Relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector….All stations secure for transit."

She entered the cockpit and stood behind Joker watching their approach.

"The board is green. Approach run has begun." Joker stated. "Hitting the relay in 3…2…1.."

The ship was pulled into the relay, a bright light, a sense of nothing, and then they shot out of the next relay.

Joker continued, "Thrusters…check. Navigation…check. Internal emissions sinks engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500k."

"1500 is good. Your Captain will be pleased." Nihlus, nodded and left.

"I hate that guy." Joker said.

"Nihlus paid you a compliment and…you hate him?" Kaidan asked.

"What I did wasn't just good…it was incredible." Joker pointed out. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board."

"The Council helped fund this project; they want to keep an eye on their investment." Kaidan pointed out.

"Yeah, that is the official story…but, only an idiot believes the official story." Joker

She turned to Joker, "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs."

"So, there's more going on here than the captain is letting on." Joker said snidely to Kaidan, who rolled his eyes.

"Kaidan, why are you in the co-pilot's chair?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Just wanted to get a little practice with reading the nav boards, it's fascinating…and to get a better look when we hit the relay." He admitted sheepishly.

She could certainly understand that, Joker had the best view on the ship. "Joker, why were you announcing every move we made earlier?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Captain wanted me to go by the book and make a good impression with Nihlus on board." Joker shrugged.

Captain Anderson's voice came on the line. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that Commander?" Joker asked.

"Hard to miss Joker... He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong with the mission." Shepard sighed and turned to leave. She heard Kaidan and Joker continue to banter as she headed down the walkway.

"Pff…Captain always sounds that way when he's talking to me." Joker replied.

"I couldn't possibly imagine why." Kaidan said disdainfully.

She shook her head in exasperation. As she got closer to the CIC, she heard Navigator Pressly.

"I'm telling you he just marched by like he was on a mission." Pressly said.

"He's a Spectre, they're always on a mission." Engineer Adams replied.

"And we're getting dragged right along with him!" Pressly said bitterly.

"Relax! You're going to give yourself an ulcer." Adams told him.

She approached Pressly.

"Congratulations, Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. Are you heading down to see the Captain?" Pressly asked.

"From what I just heard, you don't care much for our turian guest."

"Don't much care for turians. My grandfather fought in the First Contact war against them. We lost a lot of friends to the turians." He admitted.

"That was 30 years ago. You can't blame Nihlus for that." She told him.

"I know. But it still makes me nervous to have a turian Spectre on board. We're an Alliance vessel, human military…and Nihlus doesn't have to answer to the Captain, he can operate outside the law." Pressly said in frustration and then sighed. "Something is off about this mission, Commander. Everybody feels it."

"Yes, something is different. What are your thoughts about it?" She asked him.

"If we're just testing stealth systems, why is Captain Anderson here? And Nihlus? He's a turian Spectre…an elite operative. Why would a Spectre be on a shakedown run…it doesn't make any sense. I think they are using the shakedown as a cover." Pressly shook his head in confusion.

Interesting, she thought. He is picking up on the same signals she was. "Do you have concerns about the Captain?" She asked him.

"Not at all, but he is a top Special Forces officer. You don't send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. Plus, he's treating this shakedown run far too seriously. Something big is going on." Pressly told her.

"I'll find out what's going on. Good instincts Pressly." She said.

Pressly nodded, saluted, and returned to his duties.

As she continued towards the comm room she overheard Jenkins and the doctor speaking.

"I grew up on Eden Prime doc, nothing ever happens there. No reason for a Spectre to go there. And why is the Captain agreeing to it? Something has to be going on." Jenkins told Chakwas.

"That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre." Chakwas said.

"Not his choice doc, Spectre's don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone in their way." Jenkins said excitedly.

"Ha! You watch too many spy movies, Jenkins." Chakwas scoffed at him.

"What do you think Commander?" He asked as she approached them. "I sure hope we won't be staying on Eden Prime too long. I'm itching to see some real action." Jenkins said.

"I sincerely hope you're kidding Corporal," replied Chakwas. "Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary." The doctor retorted.

"You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool even under fire." Shepard told him.

"Sorry, Commander. I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board."

"Just treat this like any other assignment. You'll do fine." Shepard said.

"Easy for you to say. You proved yourself in the Blitz, everyone knows what you can do." Jenkins said with respect. "This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do."

"You will prove yourself with time and experience. You're young still. If you jump the gun and do something stupid you could end up with your ass shot off." Shepard warned.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up." Jenkins said with confidence.

Shoot me now…please. Was I ever that young and stupid? It seemed the older she got, the less patience she had with the younger troops. Well, I might as well go in as well armed as possible. She turned to the doctor.

"What can you tell me about Nihlus?" She asked her.

"Turians are generally well respected by the other races. They have the largest fleet patrolling Citadel space. They don't always get on well with us though. Some people find them too rigid or still blame them for the First Contact War. As far as Nihlus, he usually only speaks to the Captain." Chakwas explained.

"I heard Nihlus took down an entire enemy platoon by himself!" Jenks said with excitement.

"What have you heard about the Spectres?" She asked the doctor.

"Only that Spectre agents work directly for the Citadel Council, either alone or in small groups. They're a shadow organization with a mandate to preserve and protect galactic stability."

"At _any_ cost," said Jenkins." They are above the law!"

"Why aren't there any human Spectres?" She asked

"We've been trying for years to get a human accepted into their ranks, but Spectres are usually chosen from one of the Council races: turian, asari, or salarian." The doctor told her.

"Hey, Commander – you'd make a good Spectre." Jenkins tossed out. "You're a war hero that held off an entire enemy fleet during the Blitz _single_-handed!" He said in awe.

"Technically, I used both hands and even my feet at times, Jenkins…even once used the leg of a dead – Sorry…that kind of got away from me." Shepard apologized.

Jenkins mouth dropped open then slammed shut. He laughed nervously.

"The Spectres aren't interested in recruiting humans, no matter how capable." Chakwas pointed out.

"How do you control agents with unlimited power?" Shepard asked.

"I suppose the Council could revoke their status. It would probably then become a Citadel Security Services problem." Chakwas said.

"No C-Sec grunt could handle a Spectre gone rogue. They'd have to send another agent to take them down." Jenkins corrected Chakwas.

"Tell me about Eden Prime, Jenkins." Shepard said.

"It's peaceful, Commander. It doesn't have city noise or pollution. It was too quiet for me. That's why I joined the Alliance. Even paradise gets boring after awhile."

"I should go. The Captain's waiting for me." She said and headed around the partition to the comm room.

Nihlus was in the comm room alone.

"Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk." Nihlus said, unable to take his eyes off her.

"What do you wish to discuss?" She asked him.

So many things, Shepard. But he started off slow. "I'm interested in the world, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"I've never been there, but I've heard it's a paradise." She replied.

"Yes…Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can establish colonies and keep them safe. But, how safe is it?" He asked pointedly.

"Is there something you are trying to tell me?" Shepard asked.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place."

She didn't care for the direction this conversation was taking. She couldn't decide if he was mocking or threatening. She focused her senses and his aura popped into view. Dark blues with reddish swirls. Attractive, honest, but aggressive and hard, like he was. She wished she could touch him ungloved. It would be so much easier to get a bead on where he was going with this if she could read his emotional state. But that required skin on skin contact and she was pretty sure that would not go over so well with him. She sighed and released her focus, dropping the sight.

"Is the Alliance truly ready for this?" He asked with some concern. _Are you ready_ is what he really wanted to ask.

"I think we are ready to be given the chance to prove ourselves. And…Yes, Nihlus, the galaxy can be dangerous. But it can also be beautiful and seductive…keep the danger in mind...be prepared for it. But, don't close your eyes to the beauty and seduction or you will find that you have lost far more than any relative safety you might have gained." She said…keeping her eyes locked on his.

"You have an interesting philosophy, Shepard. I'd heard you were…different." He paused for a moment, looking towards the door, and then walked up to her. "When all of this is…behind us," he said softly. He ran his armored hand lightly down her cheek. "I would like to see if we could be…more." He said, looking at her intently.

"More," she said slowly, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. "I did not think turians liked humans."

"I am not your typical…turian. I don't play by the book. I don't follow the rules. I judge people by their merits not their race or species. You are a strong, talented and beautiful woman, Shepard. I see much in you to admire and much more I would like the chance to learn." He never wanted to beg for anything in his life, but he thought he just might beg for this...for her, if he had to. Spirits willing, she would see him the way he saw her.

She stripped her glove off and brought her hand to the side of his neck. His emotions were stormy, though you could not tell by his cool demeanor. His convictions were strong. She knew there was more he was not saying, but what he did say was truthful. He liked her…he wanted her. She had to admit he was good looking for a turian, he had attractive chocolate coloration, a long, swept back crest, and beautiful bright green eyes…he was strong, confident...and he intrigued her. "I would like that too, Nihlus." She said with a smile.

He nodded; his mandibles gave a small flare. He took her hand between his and touched his forehead to hers. "Then I hope we can put this behind us quickly." His head jerked up when he heard footsteps. He gave her hand a small squeeze, released it, straightened his shoulders, turned and walked away from her.

David came in quickly. "I think it's time we tell the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus told her.

"Yes, that was obvious." She said.

"We needed to make sure the stealth systems were operational because we are making a covert pick up on Eden Prime." Anderson told her.

"Is there a reason I was left in the dark?" She asked.

"The mission was need to know and now you need to know. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed a Prothean beacon." Anderson paused. "This is big, Shepard. Last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology forward 200 years. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"This goes beyond human interests alone, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in council space." Nihlus said. "However, the beacon is not the only reason why I'm here."

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Shepard. He's here to evaluate you."

She turned to face Nihlus. "I guess that's why I've been seeing so much of you lately. Will I be seeing… _more_ of you?" She raised her eyebrow and gave him a slow wink.

Nihlus caught his mandibles flaring wide, clamped them tight and cleared his throat.

"The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come." Anderson explained.

"You alone held off an enemy assault during the Blitz. You showed courage and incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres." Nihlus told her.

"I'm…thank you, Nihlus." She said, giving him slow nod.

"I've been watching you…your career for awhile now, Shepard. I _had_ to meet you." He said pausing… willing her to know what he was really trying to say. "I needed to find out if you were Spectre material. We are an elite group and it is rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. As the Captain said, I need to evaluate you. Eden Prime will be the _first_ of several missions…_together_."

"You will be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it aboard the ship. Nihlus will observe the mission. We are hoping the beacon will tell us more about the Protheans, they were technologically advanced, yet they mysteriously vanished 50,000 years ago." Anderson explained to her.

"Their Citadel is the very heart of galactic society. Without their mass relays interstellar travel would be impossible. We all owe the Protheans a great debt." Nihlus said.

"True, if we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins on Mars, we'd still be stuck on Earth." Anderson acknowledged.

"Captain, we've got a problem." Joker broke in. "Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!"

"Bring it up on-screen." David Anderson ordered.

Nihlus slipped in behind Shepard, took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She gave his hand a squeeze. His other arm, hidden from Anderson, stole around her waist and pulled her against him. He wished like mad he was not wearing armor, he needed to feel her. Her scent tantalized him, toyed with his senses. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. His hand splayed across her belly, caressed it as he held her tight.

Shepard relaxed against him and sighed. Being in his arms felt better than expected. She cherished this stolen moment in the dark and looked forward to what they would share in the future.

Heavy gunfire filled the screen. Yelling. The camera bounced haphazardly. It was hard to get a clear picture of just what was happening. A man shouted they were taking heavy casualties and needed evac, just before his head exploded. In the background a massive, tentacled ship landed at Eden Prime and the video feed cut out.

"Satus report." David demanded.

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area." Joker told him.

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet." David said. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

Nihlus released her and stepped back.

"Grab your gear and meet us at the Cargo hold." He told Nihlus.

Nihlus shot her a look. The naked longing in his eyes, thrilled her before he veiled it, nodded and left.

"Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Shepard. You're going in." When the door closed behind Nihlus, David pulled her in for a hug. "You stay safe out there, child. It is important you bring that beacon in, but don't take reckless chances with your life."

"I'll do my best, David." She assured him.

"Your best has always been good enough for me, child." He nodded then released her.

They met up with Anderson at the Cargo hold once they were suited up. "Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site, Commander." He told her. "Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission. Otherwise, radio silence."

Shepard closed her eyes and focused her sight. A rainbow of auras came into view. Before every mission she would evaluate auras and take a good luck kiss from the person with the brightest aura during that mission. It was only a friendly peck, but she knew it brought her the best luck possible. Now, that didn't mean nothing ever went wrong or no one ever got hurt, but it did mean that they had the best chance for everything to end successfully. Today, Nihlus' blue and red aura shined the brightest. But, she was unsure how a Turian would feel about a kiss or the fact that it was in public. So, she evaluated Kaidan and Jenkins. Kaidan's blue aura was the second brightest. She wasn't impressed with Jenkin's rolling green aura…it was more dull that it should be. If it were her call, she would not be taking him on this mission.

Nihlus came up to her, she felt his hand on her hip, the gentle squeeze he gave her. "Let me see your omni-tool." She flipped it on and held it up for him. He hit a few keys and nodded. "It is my private, encrypted channel. We don't know what's down there and I don't want to make it too easy on them." He said giving her a knowing, hot look. He managed to sneak in a hand squeeze as he breezed past her on his way off the ship. Stars…he's good, she thought. I didn't even see him reach for my hand.

Eden Prime

Shepard took a quick look around once they were top-side. It was beautiful, in a rocky and harsh way. She couldn't see the _paradise_ yet, but then she'd only seen one tiny piece of the place. She didn't get too terribly far when she noticed strange floating creatures above a nearby swamp.

"What the hell are those?" Alenko asked.

"Gas bags," Jenkins stated. "Nothing dangerous…unless you get too close when they are killed."

Shepard turned to her squadmates. She evaluated Kaidan and Jenkins. Kaidan's aura was brightest…Jenkins' was still dull. Damn it! He should not be here.

"I know neither of you have been with me long. I'm not sure how much you've heard about my…eccentricities." She noticed they both were flushed. Ok…so they know. "I guess I can tell by your reactions that you've heard something. I can see auras. If I picked my own team, auras would be the deciding factor on who would go with me. Ignoring what the aura says can lead to more unpleasant…outcomes. I also have a good-luck system that works for me. Things can still go wrong, it's not a guarantee, but things would go a lot worse if I ignored my system. The person on my team with the brightest aura I kiss for good luck. No worries…it's a peck, not a sexual harassment molestation." She said, forcing a straight face.

"I'm sure there are those of us that wouldn't mind the molestation…ma'am." Jenkins said.

She saw the cocky grin on his face, but his flush was over the top and she just couldn't keep it together any longer. Her commander mask slipped, she threw back her head and laughed, flashing them both a radiant smile.

Both men stood there, eyes wide, mouths open, and forgot to breath. Her smile nearly brought them to their knees. When they both remembered to breath, they were seeing stars.

She walked over to Kaidan. "Nihlus had the brightest aura, but he left too quickly. So, now you are my good luck giver today, Kaidan. Will you accept my kiss?" She asked him gently.

Kaidan flushed hotter. He didn't trust himself not to sound like he was hitting puberty, so he nodded consent.

She moved in close, put one hand behind his head and the other on his cheek. She pulled him down and slid her lips softly against his. "Thank you," she said before pulling away.

Kaidan's heart pounded within his chest. That was the most sensual kiss he'd ever received. He looked over at Jenkins, who was dripping with envy. He gave a small smile and winked at him.

They headed left down a well used trail and spotted a burning structure in the distance.

"My god…what happened here?" Asked Jenkins.

"Shepard," came the private message from Nihlus. "Are you topside yet?"

"Yes, Nihlus. We can see something burning in the distance. Doesn't look good."

"It gets worse the further in you go. This place got hit hard. Hostiles everywhere. Stay sharp…and be careful." He said concerned.

"I'm the one with a team covering my ass…you're the one that needs to be careful, Nihlus."

"Absolutely…I have a lot to look forward to." He said suggestively. "Nihlus out." Nihlus caught himself smiling again. This time he didn't have to worry about looking the fool. The dead weren't talking. It had been years since he had been interested in someone like this. While he had nothing against humans, he'd never considered being with one before. She was just so vivid, so alive, so fascinating. He had never met anyone like her. He was drawn to her courage, her strength…her vital spark. Initially he had been uncertain what his reception would be, he had assumed she would decline his invitation. Life, however, was too damn short not to try to get what you want out of it. You might be pleasantly surprised…as he had been.

As the path began to turn to the right they passed over a few fried corpses. Shepard got a bad feeling. Something wasn't right. She held up her hand to stop her squad. She motioned for them to get to cover. Jenkins wasn't fast enough. He was caught out in the open by two drones and she saw him fall. Damn it, Jenkins! She sent a drain charge at them, followed up with a warp bomb and plenty of bullets. Another drone popped up and Kaidan took it down.

Kaidan bent low over Jenkins and ran his hand over Jenkins' sightless eyes, closing them. "They ripped right through his shields. He never had a chance."

"We'll make sure he has a proper funeral when the mission is complete. But right now I need you to stay focused on the mission." She told him.

"Yes, ma'am." Kaidan replied.

Continuing along the path, skirting some large outcroppings, they were ambushed by a few more drones. They were no better than flies. Went down easy, if you could catch them, but annoyed the hell out of you if you couldn't. They'd just cleaned out that squad of drones when Nihlus commed her again.

"I've got some burned out buildings here…a lot of bodies, Shepard. I'm going to check it out. I'll catch up with you at the dig site." Nihlus said.

"Jenkins fell. He was out of cover when the drones attacked. I knew I should have kissed you." She said in frustration.

"Kissed me? You wanted to kiss me?" His heart slammed in his chest. He had never kissed anyone before, but as he spent time observing Shepard on the ship and realized he had feelings for her, he researched human courting vids. The kiss idea was kind of strange; his mouth was not built like hers, but he wanted to try it with her…

Kissing him. That was an interesting concept. Turians didn't have soft lips; she was curious what it would be like to kiss him. She hadn't originally meant it that way, she'd been thinking of the good luck kiss…but now the idea was intriguing. "Would it have offended you?" She asked him.

"Not at all, Shepard. It is an enticing notion. I would like to kiss you." At least no one was around to see just how true that statement was. "But what does kissing me have to do with Jenkins?"

"Kissing can bring good luck." She told him.

"Interesting concept…Then I wished you had kissed me too…for good luck's sake…and my own." He chuckled.

"Nihlus…be careful…I have a bad feeling. My instincts are never wrong. That's one thing you should know about me as my…mentor. Keep your guard up and…take care."

"I will, Shepard. I – there is much I want to say...we'll talk more tonight."

The path curved around to the right. Huge rock monoliths peppered the ground like giant teeth. They took down a few more drones, rounded a bend and saw a lone female soldier in a standoff against a couple of geth. What were the geth doing here? They rarely left geth space.

"Double time!" She yelled and they picked up speed to get to her in time. She signaled Kaidan to cover and darted behind the same outcropping the female soldier was using. She sent a drain charge at one, Kaidan overloaded the other and they took them down under a haze of bullets.

"Thank you, Commander, wasn't sure I was going to make it out of that pickle…Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, are you the one in charge here ma'am?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, I'm Commander Shepard. Are you hurt, Williams?" She commanded.

"No, ma'am. Just a few scrapes and bruises. The others weren't so lucky…Oh man, we were sent here to secure the beacon site and were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get out a distress call, but they jammed our communication. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

Shepard looked around. "Where is the rest of your squad?" She asked her.

"We tried to double back to the beacon, to secure it, but we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others…I think I'm the only one left." Ashley said solemnly.

"It's ok, Williams. It wasn't your fault. Sometimes the best we can do is survive, and I'm glad you did." Shepard tried to reassure her.

"Yes, Ma'am. We held our position as long as we could, but the geth overwhelmed us."

"The geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in over 200 years, why are they here now?" Kaidan asked.

"Perhaps for the same reason we are. Not sure how they found out or why they would care, but the timing cannot be coincidence." Shepard pointed out.

"The dig site is close. Just over the ridge. The beacon might still be there." Ashley said, pointing the direction they should take.

"What else do you know about these geth?" Shepard asked.

"Just what I remember from school. They're synthetics. Non-organic life-forms with limited AI programming created by the quarians a few centuries ago. They were supposed to be a source of cheap labor, but they became too intelligent. When the quarians tried to shut them down they fought back and drove the quarians into exile." Ashley explained.

"I meant _these_ geth. Do you know where they came from?" Shepard corrected.

"I think they came from that huge ship that landed." Ashley said.

Shepard nodded. She assumed that to be the case as well. She just wanted to make sure there were not more than one group of enemies they had to fight.

"Do you know what happened to the researchers at the dig site?" Shepard asked.

"No, Ma'am. They had a camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine."

"Care to help us with a little clean up?" Shepard asked her.

"Absolutely, ma'am. Time for a little payback." Ashley responded.

"Move out." She commanded.

As they continued down the incline towards the settlement, they passed several huge spikes that had been stabbed through human torsos. The bodies appeared to be in various stages of decomposition. It was horrifying to see and she could only hope they had died before they were impaled.

At the bottom of the incline, a handful of geth popped out of cover to take pot shots at them. Between the three of them, they went down fast. She flipped her omni-tool on and scanned the area, no life signs and no synthetic signatures.

The dig site was well lit up, but there was no beacon and no Nihlus; just more of those freaky spikes with human remains on them.

"This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must have been moved."

"Here's your sign." Shepard said, and then covered her mouth. Damn old earth vids.

"What sign, Commander?" Ashley asked confused.

"Tracks!" She said pointing to the faint scuff marks. "Signs it had been moved." She said, thankful for the quick wit fix. Say that three times fast, she thought with a snicker.

"Moved by whom? Our side or the geth?" Kaidan asked.

"The research camp is at the top of this ridge. Maybe they will know the answers." Ashley replied.

Shepard commed Nihlus. "We're at the dig site, Nihlus. I hate to state the obvious…but you aren't here. What happened?"

"Sorry, there was a slight change of plans. There is a small space port up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there." Nihlus responded.

"Nihlus…something is very wrong here. It is like a cold in my bones that I cannot get rid of. Come back to me; let us finish this together."

Nihlus smiled. It warmed his heart that she cared about him. It gave him hope that they could have more… be more…together. "Your concern touches me," he said softly. "But you needn't worry. I have worked alone for many years, vela. I'll be fine. You should be here soon. I'll be waiting for you."

Vela? What or who was that? "You have me there, Nihlus. I know much of the turian language…but, vela is a mystery to me."

"Your translator couldn't translate it? I guess that's not too surprising, it comes from a very ancient turian dialect. I will tell you about it tonight." He said.

"I don't have a translator. I don't have any implants." She admitted.

"That's right. I remember reading that in your file. I thought it was an error in the report. You _are_ a remarkable woman, Shepard. I can't wait...Damn - "

She heard gunfire. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yes…fine. Be careful. There are human bodies…husks…they come down off the spikes and attack. A head shot kills them faster. I'll see you soon, vela. Be careful. I hear something – Nihlus out."

"Keep your eyes peeled. Nihlus just informed me that human…husks come down off those spikes and attack. Be ready for anything. He also said to aim for the head."

"They're alive?" Ashley gasped. "I thought they were just left there as a warning."

They moved up the ridge. As they approached the camp they could see smoke and debris.

"Looks like they hit the camp hard." Ashley said.

"Keep alert. It's a good place for an ambush." Kaidan replied.

Three spikes began to retract, the impaled bodies flailed. Sparks shot into the husks and they contorted, falling off the spike stands. For a moment they ran around mindless, and then their heads swung in towards her squad. They advanced…Blasts of electricity coming off of them, strong enough to do some serious damage if they got too close.

"Oh God, they're still …alive." Kaidan said horrified.

"We were warned, Kaidan." Shepard reminded him.

"I know, but hearing about a thing and seeing it are two different things." Kaidan said.

To stay on the safe side, she kept her team at a distance and took them down with bullets.

As they walked further into the camp, she noticed other dead husks – the ones that Nihlus confronted. She approached a pair of mobile work stations. She felt a small pull and followed her loot radar – or lootdar into the closest mobile center. She found a stash of guns, which she didn't need and an omni-gel, which she could never have enough of.

The second mobile center was locked. She hacked the door and found some of the missing researchers.

"Humans! Thank the Maker! I'm Dr. Warren and this is Dr. Manuel," the woman said.

"Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!" Said the distraught man.

"Don't worry. I'm Commander Shepard. We'll protect you." She assured them.

"Thank you. I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone." Dr. Warren said.

"Dr. Warren…you're in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?" Ashley asked.

"It was moved to the space port this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp." Dr. Warren replied. "When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. We could hear the battle outside. Gunfire. Screams. I thought it would never end. Then everything went quiet. We stayed…too afraid to move, until you came along. They saved our lives."

"Saved? No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon only ruin and corpses will remain." Dr. Manuel said frantically. "Agents of the destroyers, Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction."

Shepard ignored the ranting. She was getting a little worried about Nihlus. "Did you see a turian in the area?" Shepard asked.

"I saw him. The prophet. Leader of the enemy. He was here before the attack." Dr. Manuel said.

"That's impossible. Nihlus was with us on the Normandy before the attack. He couldn't have been here." Kaidan said.

"No, but another turian might have been." Shepard responded.

"I'm sorry, Manuel is still a bit…unsettled. We've been hiding in here since the attack. I know I haven't seen any turians." Dr. Warren told them.

"What do you know about the beacon?" Shepard asked her.

"It's some kind of data module from a galaxy wide communications network. It's remarkably well preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime!" Dr. Warren said excitedly.

"We have unearthed the heart of evil. Awakened the beast. Unleashed the darkness." Dr. Manuel

"What's wrong with Dr. Manuel?" Shepard asked.

"Dr. Manuel has a brilliant mind. But, he's always been a bit…unstable. There is a fine line between genius and madness." Dr. Warren replied.

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? You can't stop it! No one can stop it! They are coming! They bring the darkness of eternity! No, I'm not mad…I'm the only sane one left!" Dr. Manuel said, his voice rising.

Shepard closed her eyes and focused her sight. She opened them and saw Manuel's beautiful sky blue aura with swirls of yellow, tails of green where the colors collided. She did not see madness in his aura. She approached Dr. Manuel slowly. She pulled off her armored glove. "Dr. Manuel, would you be willing to remove your glove and shake my hand. The touch will allow me to see the truth. Will you let me touch you?" She asked him calmly.

Dr. Manuel bobbed his head and removed his glove. Shepard took his hand and gasped as the jolt hit her. Emotions were chaotic, thoughts were flying. She almost felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt Kaidan's touch on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Commander?" He asked concerned. She nodded to him and then concentrated on Dr. Manuel, sent him soothing thoughts. "What did the turian you see look like?"

"He wore silver armor, had long cheek crests and wore a black cloth over his head crests. His glowing blue eyes could be seen from a distance." He said in an almost dream like state.

"That's very good. You said he was leading the enemy. What enemy?" She asked softly.

"The geth. But they are just the agents of the destroyers! The destroyers have seen us and they are coming. Our extinction is at hand!" Dr. Manuel's voice began to rise in fear.

Shepard sent more calming thoughts through her touch and he settled back into a dream-like state. "Who are the destroyers?" She asked.

"The ancient ones. I only see the dark. They bring the dark. They will devour us." Dr. Manuel's head dropped. "I have seen it." He whispered.

She wished he were more stable. She'd kiss him. Not in a sexual way, but she needed the memory pictures she'd receive from him when her DNA mixed with his.

Through the mixing of bodily fluids…kissing, blood…sex, pictures of their past, present, and rip through her mind. It's a kaleidoscope of a life. Random pictures come in to full view and disappear to be replaced by others. Sometimes they fly by too fast to get a good look at…though she can usually hunt them down in her mind later. If there is not something she's specifically looking for, they overwhelm her even faster. It is always a painful experience, though sometimes it could be delayed if she distracted herself enough. But to be able to actually _see_ what Manuel saw, and not just feel it… that would be worth any amount of pain. It was, however, not worth her soul. Manuel was too fragile.

Manuel was not mad…but what he had seen had not left him completely sane either. She looked the doctor in the eyes and nodded. "You are not crazy, Dr. Manuel. I believe you. They_ are_ coming. But, know this…I will _not_ let them devour us. I _will_ fight. I _will_ win." She sent calm, confident thoughts and dropped his hand.

"Thank you, Commander Shepard," Dr. Manuel stated calmly. "I do not know why I think you can beat such astronomical odds, but I do. You have given me…hope… freedom…clarity. Thank you." He turned to Dr. Warren. "I believe we have some packing to finish, are you ready to proceed, Dr. Warren?" He asked, and then turned and walked to the back of the mobile center to complete the packing.

"I haven't seen him that calm and relaxed in, well…ever. He walks lighter, like a great burden has been lifted off of him. I don't know what you did to him, but thank you." Dr. Warren said gratefully.

Shepard nodded. "I should go." She turned and exited the mobile center.

"Wow, that man was cracked. Not sure how you held your patience so long." Ashley said.

Kaidan shot Ashley a dark look.

"What, LT?" Ashley asked.

"He wasn't crazy Ashley. He was seeing more clearly than anyone. I felt the truth of it when I touched him, when I read his feelings. Enough. Let's move out." Shepard said, heading towards the space port.

Ashley looked over at Kaiden in question.

"I will tell you about it later." He told her.

Nihlus heard movement, he darted behind cover. He pulled out his assault rifle, took a deep breath and darted out of cover, gun raised, target in the cross hairs. Then he stopped. It was his old mentor Saren Arterius. "Saren?" Nihlus asked in shock.

Saren turned around slowly. "Nihlus." He said softly.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus asked.

Saren walked over to Nihlus, put a hand on his shoulder, "The Council thought you could use some help on this one." He said as he walked past him. Damn it, Nihlus! This was not how he wanted things to go down. But, no one could know he had been here.

Nilus looked off into the distance. "I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry," Saren and then he turned and pulled his gun, aiming at the back of Nihlus' head. "I've got it covered."

Nihlus flipped on his omni-tool and commed Shepard. "Vela, I'm - "

Saren pulled the trigger.

A sigh escaped Nihlus as he fell to the ground. As light faded to dark, his last thought was of a kiss.

"Nihlus! Shit. Nihlus, we're coming…hang on." Saren heard the woman say. Damn it Nihlus – you brought your vela? A part of him wanted to stay and find out who she was. But he did not want to have to kill her. He'd taken enough from the man. Saren gave one last look at Nihlus, turned and walked away.

She heard Nihlus' voice. She heard the gun shot. She heard the thud of a body hitting the ground. She heard the silence. "Nihlus! Shit. Nihlus, we're coming…hang on…Double time!" Shepard yelled. She amped her power and charged. She pulled up when she saw the human husks. She looked longingly in the direction of the spaceport and sighed. She would not leave her squad to fight alone.

They took down the three husks, one of them she threw against an outcropping so hard that its body went flying in two separate directions. She just wished she'd had the chance to do that to the other two.

She and Ashley drew their snipers and took out the two geth at the space port that were firing at them and two more husks that were making their way up the hill.

They heard a banging and walked towards the shed. She hacked the locked door and humans came out with their hands up. "Don't shoot …we're coming out – we aren't armed," a man said.

"Is it safe…Are they gone?" Asked a frightened woman.

"I'm Commander Shepard; the enemies have been cleared out. You are safe."

"Those things were crawling all around the shed. We owe you are lives." Cole said.

"What happened?" She asked.

"We had been working the crops when the ship showed up and we ran for the shed. The rest of the crew had been over by the spaceport where the ship landed. The ship had been emitting some kind of signal when it descended. Sounded like the shriek of the damned. Only it was coming from inside your own head." Cole told them.

"It was probably trying to block communications." Shepard explained.

One of the farmers, Blake, felt guilty and talked Cole into turning over the military items that someone at the spaceport was smuggling off planet. A few more delicate arm twists and they discovered the man's name was Powell.

She nodded and left. Hang in there Nihlus, she thought. We're almost there. She skirted left around the outcroppings and up the stairs, where she found Nihlus sprawled on the ground. She ran over and knelt beside him. She scanned him with her omni-tool. No signs of life. She removed her glove and placed her hand on his neck. Nothing. She pushed out and tried to merge their auras…she wanted to see if there were any after effects left behind that could tell her what happened. Nothing. No pulse. No emotions. No aura. Emptiness. She bent over and placed a kiss on his mouth. "I'm so sorry I didn't do that sooner…maybe none of this would have happened." She looked down at him sadly and an idea popped into her head. She placed her mouth against his once more, applied pressure to his chin and opened his mouth. Her tongue slipped inside. She needed his memory pictures. She wasn't sure it would work, but she had to try. She pulled back, gently placed her hand over his sightless eyes and closed them. "Sleep well, Nihlus. You will be remembered." She said softly.

A noise to the right brought her to attention. She spun and pulled her gun.

"Wait! Don't – Don't shoot! I'm one of you! I'm human." Powell said holding his arms up.

"Sneaking up on us that way nearly got you killed." Shepard said, her patience gone.

"I'm sorry; I was hiding from those creatures. My name is Powell; I saw what happened to your...boyfriend. The other turian shot him."

"What happened?" She asked.

"The other turian got here first. He was waiting when your boyfriend showed up. Your boyfriend called him Saren. He relaxed. He let his guard down…and Saren shot him in the back of the head…I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates." Powell explained.

"He wasn't her _boyfriend_!" Kaidan corrected with indignation.

"Yes, Kaidan, he was." Their relationship might have been brand new, but she was not going to deny Nihlus. Not now. Not ever.

Kaidan looked at her in shock. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." He liked the Commander. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about her and the turian. How could he have missed that? He also knew he wasn't really sorry and that sat wrong with him. But how could he be? He was drawn to her himself.

"So am I, Kaidan. He deserved better." Like she told Kaidan, she would mourn later. It was her fault. She should have kissed him. She ignored her system and he paid the price. Why hadn't he listened to her? Why hadn't she tried harder? She knew better than to ignore her feelings. Saren, she thought. I _will_ find you. I _will _take you down. Once the vow was made, she returned her focus to the mission. "We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?"

"It's over on the other platform. Probably where that Saren guy was headed. He hopped on the cargo train right after he killed your boyfriend." Powell told her. "Everything has gone to Hell since we found that damned beacon. First the mother ship showed up then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been napping behind the crates I'd be dead, too! The ship made a horrible noise that woke me up and I've been hiding ever since."

"Cole told me you were his smuggling contact at the docks. Are there any weapons around her that we can use in the fight?" Shepard asked him.

"A shipment of grenades came through last week. Nobody notices if a few small pieces go missing from the military orders." Powell admitted.

"You greedy son of a bitch! We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass and all you can think about is how you can rip us off?" Ashley fumed.

"I never thought you'd actually need the grenades! Who'd ever attack Eden Prime? We're just a bunch of farmers." Powell said holding his hands up in submission. "Here," he said, handing the grenades to Shepard. "They're yours. Take them. My smuggling days are over. I swear."

"A lot of marines died here, Powell. Those grenades might have saved their lives. If I were you, I'd think of some way to make it up to them." Shepard told him.

"Okay. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Really. I'm sorry." Cole said, feeling miserable.

"Move out. We have a beacon to secure."

She gave Nihlus' body a last sad look and a slight bow as she passed it and headed towards the train. Geth were on the landing waiting for them. Their warbling had given them away. She scanned the immediate area and 3 synthetic pings were picked up on radar. Shepard told them to each pick one. The farthest one was hers. She pulled out her sniper and took the head clean off its body. Beautiful. The skirted the geth bodies and headed down the stairs.

She pulled up at the bottom and peaked around the railing. A large geth destroyer was taking shots at them. She sent a drain charge at it, followed up with a warp bomb. Kaidan sent a wave at it, toppling it over. They finished him off with a volley of bullets.

They stuck to cover and made their way onto the train car. It was crawling with geth. She held her team back. "Take a knee!" She yelled and everyone pulled their snipers. One geth broke away and was heading right towards them. "Geth charge! Bring him down." Several sniper shots later, he was down right in front of them. That was closer than she liked. Probably should have just used her powers, but she loved getting sniper practice in. Biotic or not, she was the best shot on the ship and intended to keep it that way.

She took a knee and proceeded to take out the rest of the geth with her team. Poor Kaidan did not seem too enthused with using his sniper, but it was good practice for him. He'll get over it.

Saren approached the geth. "Set the Charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were ever here." He regretted the need to kill Nihlus' vela. A small part of him hoped she'd departed Eden Prime, but he could still hear the gunfire as she approached. It was better this way. There would be no possible witnesses left.

When the train came to a stop Shepard noticed a large bomb sitting right next to the platform. Shit! She knelt over it; her hands flew across the holo-pad as she hacked into the bomb to deactivate it. "If this bomb is any indication…we don't have a lot of time if there are other bombs. Move out!"

They ran up the stairs. As soon as she reached the top she yelled, "Take a knee!" Everyone pulled out their snipers. There were geth right across the way from them and another group cater-corner. After a volley of sniper fire Ashley scanned the area, "All targets down."

They picked up speed as they searched for any more possible bombs. Half way across the platform, she yelled "Take a knee!" And they pulled their snipers again. There were a group of geth on the bridge they needed to cross…or would gaggle of geth work? She laughed at her the direction her mind had gone as she took down another geth. When the bridge was clear, they headed out again.

On the other side of that bridge, three more bombs were found and diffused. She headed back to a stairwell she had passed. Near the bottom of the stairs she threw her hand up to halt her squad. The lower platform was littered with geth and husks. Time to take the trash out.

She discovered real quick that husks were sensitive to being tossed about. She raised her arm and picked up a husk and flung it straight up into the air…good stars did that thing take flight. She tossed more husks around like rag dolls because it was so bloody damn fun. When her party favors were gone, she helped her team finish off the geth.

Her lootdar sent her to both sides of the platform where she was able to get her hands on some more goodies. Then she headed over to get a look at the beacon. The whole beacon glowed with a green energy, it was also emitting a hum that seemed to interfere with her transmission. She moved further away from the beacon to get better reception and commed Joker. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Requesting immediate evac."

"This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable." Kaidan said.

"It wasn't doing anything like that when we dug it up." Ashley replied and headed back over to talk to Shepard.

"Something must have activated it." Kaidan said as he moved a bit closer to get a better look at it.

"Roger, Normandy. Standing by." Shepard turned around and saw the Kaidan approaching the beacon. She felt a wave of trepidation. "Kaidan – No!" She saw his head start to swing in her direction, but it was too late, the beacon began to flare and started pulling him in. She threw a wave at him to pull him away from it. He moved some, but the beacon pulled him back. She amped and charged. She pulled up just as she reached him and flung him away from the beacon with all her strength. He hit the ground and rolled. She amped again, ready to charge and the beacon grabbed her.

"Shepard!" Kaidan yelled, trying to get to her.

Ashley grabbed hold of him tightly. "No! Don't touch her! It's too dangerous, LT." Ashley warned him.

A tight pressure built up within her as the beam lifted her into the air. Damn me…this is going to hurt. The pressure continued to build inside her head until she felt a pop, a sharp pain shot through her skull and pictures began pouring into her mind. The pictures kaleidoscoped faster and faster, not making much sense. She saw blood, gaping mouths, torture, torment, death. She saw machines or...synthetics. She saw destruction and ruin. The pictures were very similar to the memory pictures she received when her DNA collided with another's…but the pictures were so much darker…more alien…more terrifying… and she didn't even get a kiss to make it more worthwhile.

The beacon's energy grew brighter and brighter still until it shattered in a wave of energy so strong that Shepard was propelled away from it with great force. She slammed into the ground, the world went black. The beacon smoked and died.

Eden Prime Aftermath

Saren was aboard the massive Reaper ship that landed on Eden Prime. He called ship Sovereign. He was sitting in his chair contemplating the days events.

Benezia, and asari elder, or matriarch, approached him. "We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy. A human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony."

"And the beacon?" Saren asked brusquely.

"One of the humans may have used it." She replied.

Saren jumped up from his chair, an angry snarl raged out of him. This cannot happen. They cannot find out what he's doing. They would try to stop him…prevent it. No! His fury was all encompassing. He smashed and threw anything in his reach, growling and snarling…he wanted to break something...pulverize it into a bloody pulp. He stormed over to Benezia and grabbed her head between his taloned hands. Just a little pressure is all it would take…No..no..he can't…he needed her. He released her head and backed away before he was tempted to do something he would regret.

"This human must be eliminated!" He said when he collected himself.

Pain shot through Shepard's head like lightening bolts. She wanted to curl up, clutch her head, scream...but she couldn't move...the pain spread like fire through her synapses. Before one flaying could sizzle out another bolt slammed into her. Pictures tore through her...memories that weren't her own. The pictures flew by so fast that she couldn't make sense of them. Yet they redefined her...became a part of her. She knew they belonged to Nihlus. She could feel him. Some pictures stood out from the many, slowing enough for her to see them...memories that meant more to him or affected him more. His trials...his tribulations...momentous things he'd done...good and bad. But those were not what she needed to see right now. She fought to focus her mind, but she had less control over it than normal and she couldn't fathom why. The pictures slowed as they reached the present. Pictures of her dossier, of her aboard the Normandy, of her when she touched his neck and smiled at him...Eden Prime...husks he'd warned her about...a turian - there you are you bastard. Saren...a blurry picture of her, dark around the edges...and nothing.

She knew the man. She mourned his loss. It humbled her and tore at her heart that she was the last thing he thought about before he died.

Shepard opened her eyes and blinked. She struggled to sit up. She was on the Normandy. How did she get here?

"Doctor Chakwas? I think she's waking up." Kaidan said relieved.

"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

"I'm fine now, doc. Fast healer, remember? How long was I out?" She asked.

"About 15 hours. Something happened down there with the beacon."

"It's my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security when I approached it. You had to throw me out of the way." Kaidan said flushing.

"You had no way to know what would happen." Shepard told him.

Kaidan couldn't keep the smile from his face. She forgave him and didn't hold it against him. She was a remarkable woman.

"The beacon exploded. The force of it threw you into the ground and knocked you out. We had to carry you back to the ship." Kaidan informed her.

"Thank you, Kaidan. I appreciate you looking out for me." She said.

"How am I looking doc?" Shepard asked Chakwas.

"Physically you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movements, signs typically associated with intense dreaming." Chakwas explained.

"The beacon showed me a vision…death, destruction…it was horrible to see." Shepard admitted. She wished she could share what Nihlus showed her with someone, but outside of David, she didn't know anyone well enough to trust them with her _abilities_. For her own protection, she'd led her superiors to believe she'd lost her abilities due to an injury. She'd never told David otherwise...she trusted him completely, he was a father to her...but she didn't want to put him in a position to lie for her and she knew he would. So, she had no one but herself. And that was entirely too lonely at times.

"Hmmm...I better add this to my report. It may – Oh, Captain Anderson." Chakwas said.

"How's our girl holding up, doctor?" Anderson asked.

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine." Chakwas stated.

"Glad to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you… in private." Anderson declared.

"Aye, aye Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me." Kaidan said with a salute.

"Sounds like that beacon did a number on you, child. Are you sure you're okay?" Anderson asked concerned.

"I'm sorry about Jenkins. I don't like losing a soldier under my command." She told him.

"I received the reports, Jenkins wasn't your fault. You did a good job, child." Anderson assured her.

"What happened to Williams, can I have her assigned to the Normandy?" Shepard asked.

"She's a good soldier, it's already been done." Anderson replied.

"You said you needed a word, David?" She asked.

"I won't lie to you, child. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon destroyed and geth are invading. The council is going to want answers."

"I didn't do anything wrong. The geth were there when we arrived, Nihlus refused to come back to the team, and the beacon couldn't be shut off. The geth would have wiped out the whole colony if I hadn't stopped them."

"I know it's not my business…but was there something between you and Nihlus?" Anderson asked.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "How did you know?"

"I'm not blind, child. Well, that and they spent the last 14 hours decrypting his personal logs." Anderson warned her.

"Well this is incredibly awkward." She said. "We didn't exactly expect things would end the way they did."

"I know, child. If he survived, they never would have looked into his personal files. From what I hear the turian Councilor was rather bent out of shape over it. I doubt you've made a friend in him. Tread lightly around him, child. We need the Council's support." David advised.

"Were they able to find anything on Saren?" She asked hopefully.

"No. He didn't have it activated at that time. They just heard the final shot like you did when he contacted you. Look, child, I'll stand behind you and your report. You're a damned hero in my books. But Saren is what concerns me most. Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre is trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans." Anderson informed her.

"Why, David?" She asked.

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don't do anything about it. But now Saren has allied himself with the geth and it has something to do with that beacon." Anderson said.

"The beacon gave me a vision…very like the memory pictures I…used to have. I saw synthetics slaughtering people, butchering them. I saw things out of nightmares. Mass destruction." She told him.

"We need to report this to the Council." David said.

"I don't know if that's wise, dad. It was a vision…no more than a dream…though nightmare would be more apt. They'd never believe it." She said.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Prothean technology? Blueprints for a weapon? Whatever it was, Saren took it and he has an army of geth at his command. You are our only link to that information. I know Saren's reputation. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. The attack was an act of war." David said vehemently.

"I _will_ take him down. I've already vowed it. There is no place he can run from me. I _will_ find his synthetic ass." She assured him.

David gave her a thoughtful look. He knew only one way that she could know what Saren looked like. He'd suspected and now he knew. He couldn't protect her before, but he could now. "On your magic broomstick?" David asked with a small smile.

"Funny, dad. I have money, I'll buy a ship…or rent one." She said.

"You'd go AWOL?" David asked surprised.

"If they did not release me for the mission…yes." She admitted honestly.

"If it comes to that, I will give you leave for the mission." David said solemnly.

"No, David. I would never let you take the heat from the brass for me." She told him.

"You wouldn't have a choice, child. I love you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. But that's a moot point right now. Saren is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do anything. That's why we need the Council on our side." David informed her.

"Then I will prove he's gone rogue so the Council will revoke his Spectre status. I just wish...damn it all." She said. It was so easy to fall back into talking to him like she used to.

"I understand, child." He said giving her a direct look.

She stared into his knowing, kind eyes. Eyes filled with love for her and she sighed. "Plausible deniability, dad."

"I know, i just miss...us" he said sadly.

"So do I, dad. So do I." She pulled him into a hug and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before pulling away.

David cleared his throat. "I'll contact the Ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. We should be there by now. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock."

As she left the med-bay, Kaidan waved her over.

"Glad to see you're okay, Commander. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew…and Nihlus...I'm glad we didn't lose you too." He said.

"A lot happened down there. Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony." He told her.

"I didn't do it by myself, Kaidan. _We_ stopped Saren." She reminded him. "I'm just sorry we lost Jenkins and Nihlus."

"You did everything right, it was just bad luck." He paused for a moment. "Was it my kiss?" He asked.

"No, Kaidan. To get the best luck, I'd have had to kiss Nihlus, but I didn't and it cost us dearly. If I hadn't of kissed you our luck would have been even worse. Maybe we wouldn't found anyone left alive. Maybe the bombs would have detonated. Maybe you would have died at that beacon. My system works, Kaidan. I know it is hard to wrap your head around. But I learned the hard way that to ignore it is folly…Isn't a chance for good luck better than nothing at all?" She asked.

"Of course, Commander. You can use me for…luck any time you need to." Kaidan said with a flush. He cleared his throat. "If you had gotten your…luck from Nihlus, would Jenkins have survived?"

"I don't know, Kaidan. Jenkin's aura was off, it was more dull than it should have been. Maybe he was just more focused on making an impression than the mission. If it was my call, I wouldn't have taken him." She said matter of fact. That too was something she could no longer share with David...a death that so easily could have been prevented.

Kaidan shook his head. "It's been a hell of a shakedown run. Our first mission ends with one Spectre killing another. The Citadel Council is not going to be happy about that. They will probably try to use it to lever more concessions out of the Alliance." He said.

"You've got a good grasp of the situation. Are you a career man?" She asked, more than a little impressed.

"Yeah, my father served too. Made him proud when I enlisted. Did you enlist because of family?" He asked her.

"No, my family was killed on Mindoir by the batarians. I wanted the chance to stop that from happening to other families. I just got a little more noteworthy than anyone expected." She said.

"Ah, that's right. The Blitz. I imagine that bought you any post in the fleet." He said with a chuckle. "Word has it that we're heading to the Citadel. Can you tell me why?"

"The Captain hopes the Ambassador can get an audience with the Council, to tell them about Saren." She admitted.

"That makes sense. Whatever happens…we'll be ready, Commander." He told her.

As she left Kaidan she saw Dr. Chakwas on her way back to the med-lab and stopped to have a quick word with her. She asked her why she chose to join the Alliance.

"I joined right after med-school. I wanted to travel the stars tending the wounds of tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls. Turns out military life isn't quite as romantic as I'd imagined. But if I left the Alliance, I'd feel like I was abandoning them."

"I'm concerned about Lieutenant Alenko. I've noticed he tends to rub his head. Is there anything you can tell me?" She asked.

"Alenko has an impressive service record, with over a dozen accommodations, but he tends to keep to himself. Maybe due to the headaches. He has the old L2 implant and there can be…complications. Like severe mental disabilities, insanity, crippling physical pain. There's a long list of horrific side effects. Kaidan's very lucky. He just gets migraines."

She thanked the doctor and turned away. She noticed Ashley standing not far away, looking anxious.

"Commander," Ashley said as Shepard approached her. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"Thank you, Ashley. It is good to see you aboard the Normandy." She told her.

"A part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here," She said looking down at the floor.

"Not true, Williams. You're a good soldier. You belong on the Normandy. I would have pushed for it regardless of Jenkins." She assured her.

"Thanks, Commander. That means a lot coming from you. I've never met anyone who was awarded the Star of Terra." Ashley said in awe.

"I just did my job, Williams. Anyone would have done the same." She replied.

"Held off an entire enemy platoon? Alone? With all due respect, Commander, I doubt any soldier could have done what you did." Ashley pointed out.

Shepard gave her a small smile. She knew she was different; it just made it awkward and uncomfortable for it to be pointed out. "Things were harsh down there, are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"I will be. It is hard to see innocent people die, but it would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up."

"Well, welcome aboard the Normandy, Williams. I think you'll fit right in." Shepard said with a smile.

Ashley shook her head. "Thanks again, Commander. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcome." Now that was a hell of a smile, she thought as she watched the commander leave. If Shepard's smile hit her that hard, it would be real interesting to see what it did to the men.

Shepard nodded and headed to the walk way behind her. She circled around the elevator and took a sharp right up the stairs. She skirted the CIC and made her way up to the bridge and Joker, her team hot on her tail.

"Good timing, Commander. I was just about to take her into the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work."

They flew out of the relay and in through the Citadel's open arms, circling around a nearby ship.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Ashley said in awe.

"The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet." Kaidan said respectfully.

"Citadel Control, this is SSV Normandy requesting permission to dock." Joker said.

"Clearance granted, Normandy. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator." Citadel Control responded.

"Normandy, this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to docking bay 422."

"Roger, Alliance Tower. Normandy out." Joker signed off.

The Citadel

Ambassador Udina stood toe to toe with the holographic council members. "This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!" Udina raged.

"The turians don't establish colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador." The salarian Councilor replied.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse." The asari Councilor pointed out.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!" Udina said sternly.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." The turian Councilor said.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the findings at the hearing. Not before." The asari Coucilor stated before the Council winked out.

"Captain Anderson. The Council is not happy about you accusing Saren of treason. Saren is their top agent." Udina informed Anderson when they walked into the Human Embassy.

"Saren needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!" Shepard interrupted.

"Settle down, Commander. You've already done enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres." Udina reprimanded her. "You should have proven yourself on Eden Prime. Instead, Nihlus is dead and the beacon destroyed!"

"That's on Saren – Not her! Nihlus refused to return, she couldn't force him to! The beacon was overcharged before she arrived! I will not let you pin this on Shepard!" Anderson shot back.

"It's okay, Captain." She didn't want him taking heat for her.

"No, it's not...Commander."

"Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard – you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top Level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in." Udina said, leaving with Anderson.

"And that's why I hate politicians." Ashley quipped.

They headed left out of the Human Embassy and down another flight of stairs. She turned left through a door and down another flight of stairs to the main Embassy floor below. A receptionist pointed her to Avina, a virtual guide, which was able to give her additional information on the Citadel and the Council races. She then headed right in the direction of the Council Tower. Tight buns today, she thought, as they neared the Council Tower elevator. That was a hell of a walk.

"What the hell is that bug-thing over there and what is it doing?" Ashley asked.

"It's a keeper; it takes care of the Citadel. Beyond that, I really don't know." Shepard told her.

They hopped into the elevator and headed to the top floor. During the ride, Ashley asked "They're not going to ask me any questions are they?"

"I doubt it. We made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina." Kaidan said.

"No we don't, sir." Ashley replied.

"Damned oily assweasle." She mumbled. Kaidan's eyes popped open and Ashley barked out a laugh.

"I see we agree, Commander. And that's a picture I won't soon forget...I will never be able to look at Udina the same again."

"And neither will I. Thank you, Commander." Kaidan said shaking his head.

"That's what I'm here for."

The elevator opened and they moved out towards the Council chambers. Shepard felt a pull. She looked around but, didn't see anything out of place. She usually associated the pull with loot, though sometimes it led her to people in trouble or something she needed to do.

She followed the pull, but she didn't have to go very far. It seemed to be focused on a pair of turians in a heated discussion not far from her. Damn… Shepard felt her nose itch. Her nose loved to butt into other people's business.

As she got closer to the pair, the pull got stronger. It now seemed to be centering on the lighter colored turian on the left. She wished she understood the pull better. Was she supposed to help him? He didn't look like he needed saving and she sure wasn't going to pilfer his pockets for treasure.

"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them." The lighter turian said.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus." The darker turian said and walked away.

Garrus…that is the name of the turian she was being pulled towards. Even more interesting…he was investigating Saren…the very man she vowed to bring down. Is this why she was being pulled to him? Were they meant to help each other?

Garrus wanted to shake Executor Pallin so bad he could taste it. An alarm bell went off in his head and his senses went on high alert. He swung his head towards the trio of humans nearby. They were heavily armed, which was unusual in itself, but one of them had a presence so strong it nearly caused him to take a step backwards. The woman at the head of the trio drew his attention. She was remarkable for a human. She had a quiet strength that drew him. Her sense of presence captivated him. She looked so familiar to him. Where had he… Spirits! She was _the_ Commander Shepard. Hero of the Blitz! Awarded the Star of Terra! And…she was going after Saren.

"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

"I was hoping you'd have found something I could use. It is unfortunate that they will not allow you to continue with your investigation." She said.

Garrus folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way." He admitted. "But he's a Spectre; everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence." Frustration laced every word.

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander." Kaidan informed her.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you." Garrus said.

"Thank you, Garrus. Perhaps we will meet again." She said. In fact she knew they would. The pull was still there and she needed to find out why.

"Perhaps we will." He said as he watched her walk away, leaving behind a sense of loss that he couldn't fathom.

They skirted the fountain, went up a flight of stairs, skirted the garden and went up another flight of stairs, where David was waiting for her. "The hearing's already started. Come on." He said.

They walked out onto an extended platform and faced the Council.

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way." The asari Councilor said.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." The turian Councilor said matter of fact.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina said angrily.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof." The salarian Councilor pointed out.

"Dr. Manuel saw him too. Described him perfectly. How could he have described him if he hadn't seen him first hand?" Shepard retorted.

"Ah, yes…Dr. Manuel. I've read his file. He is…of a delicate mind." The turian Counselor replied.

"Have you talked to him recently? I have. He knew exactly what he was talking about. You need to speak to him, not rely on old files." Shepard stated. "Two different people saw Saren there. Two accountings you are determined to ignore. Two people you are determined to malign, just so you don't have to face the truth about your precious Saren…A traitor responsible for Nihlus' death."

"Your posturing is pointless. Nihlus was simply preoccupied with other matters," the turian Councilor said, shooting Shepard a cold glare. "He didn't give the mission his full attention."

"That is untrue. Nihlus was a respected Spectre, one of the best. He dropped his guard because he trusted Saren, not because he was preoccupied." Shepard was furious that they would turn this on her. That they would say things like that about Nihlus. She knew Nihlus probably better than he knew himself. But they knew his record and it should have spoke volumes.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend." Saren responded.

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson retorted.

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me…And this must be your protégé. Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed." Saren said snidely.

"The Eden Prime mission was top secret. The only way you could have known about the beacon was if you were there!" Shepard pointed out.

"With Nihlus gone, his files passed to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a human?" Seran sneered.

"Insults? Really? Know this… I am more than you _ever _bargained for. I _know_ you were there and I _will _bring you down." Shepard said coldly.

Saren scoffed. "Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

"He has no right to say that! That's not his decision!" Udina flared.

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." The asari Councilor reiterated.

"This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time Councilor...and mine." Saren stated.

"What will it take for you to see the truth? Saren used the beacon. Are you waiting for him to shit Prothean data out his ass? You need to open your eyes."

"Being rude does not help your position, Commander Shepard." The asari Councilor reprimanded her.

"What we need is compelling evidence. So far, we have nothing but the word of two traumatized survivors, which are circumspect at best." The salarian Councilor stated.

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" The salarian Councilor asked.

"With your eyes wide shut and your minds made up, there is nothing I can say that you will hear." Shepard replied. At least nothing short of throwing herself under the bus. If she revealed what she knew and how she knew it, the Alliance would back her 100%...but to go back to being their bitch...their tool...No way in hell. Not for Saren.

"The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is declined. This meeting is adjourned." The asari Councilor stated.

"I'm glad to see justice was served." Saren replied.

"I _will_ take you down, Saren." Shepard warned.

"You will try…_Vela_." Saren said and winked out.

The turian Councilor gave a visible start. He shot a thoughtful look at Shepard. There is only one way Saren could know about the 'vela'. "If you find that evidence..."

"You'll be the first to know." Shepard told him and turned to leave.

"I'll get the proof they need Anderson. First I need to locate Garrus, the C-Sec officer that was in charge of the case. He wants to take down Saren too. I think we should work together." Shepard stated.

"I have a contact in C-Sec, Harkin. He can track Garrus down." Udina said.

"Forget it. They suspended that loser last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with him." Anderson replied.

"_You_ won't have to. I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard can handle this." Udina said matter of fact, turned and sauntered away.

"I'll take care of it." She said.

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den…a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards. You can also talk to Barla Von, over in the financial district. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker, an information dealer that sells secrets to the highest bidder – but his information will not come cheap." Anderson informed her.

"What is this between you and Saren?" She asked him.

"About 20 years ago, I was on a mission with him in the Skyllian Verge to remove a known terrorist threat. Saren eliminated his target, but killed a lot of innocent people. It was swept under the rug. He has no conscience, no hesitation. He likes the violence, the killing. He's twisted, broken…and knows how to cover his tracks." Anderson explained.

"Good to know, Anderson. I'm going to go find Garrus." Shepard told him.

"I'll be at the Embassy if you need me." Anderson said.

She nodded and headed out of the Tower. It was time to pay Harkin a visit. Outside of Chora's Den two men attacked her on sight. She raised her hand, lifted one of the men into the air, and threw him over the railing to the atrium below. She treated the other to the same level of love. No muss, no fuss, and no bullets wasted.

She headed left and worked her way around the central bar. She heard a loud discussion and her nose started to itch. Damned nose. Shepard's nose grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards the arguing krogan. She really wished her nose would stay out of things. There's more than one time it ended up bloodied.

"This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it." The scarred krogan said.

"He's not coming out, Wrex. End of story." The bouncer replied.

"This story is just beginning." Wrex responded.

"Out of my way humans. I have no quarrel with you." Wrex said as he pushed his way past them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows…let's just try not to get caught in the middle." Ashley replied.

Shepard knew her nose all too well. She had no doubt she'd be seeing that krogan again.

"I can see why this place is so popular. It's got quite the...uh…view." Kaidan said.

"Hey, Lieutenant, put your tongue back in your mouth before you trip on it." Ashley chastised him and then shook her head. "A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad."

"What? You don't think they came here because of the food?" Kaidan said sarcastically.

"Can I hit him Commander?" Ashley inquired.

"No, but I might." Shepard said.

"Can I watch?" Ashley asked.

"Only if I break out the leather." Shepard responded.

"Hey!" Kaidan said. "Wait…that could be fun."

Ashley's mouth opened and closed. Shepard had to clench her teeth hard to stop herself from laughing.

Shepard spotted a man that fit Harken's description and walked over to his table.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You looking for some fun? 'Cause that soldier getup looks real good on that bod of yours…Why don't you sit that sweet little ass down beside old Harkin? Have a drink and we'll see where this goes…" Harkin said winking at her.

So gross, she thought. The man was a filthy butt-weasel. "Maybe later." She said sarcastically.

"Suit yourself, princess. You know, if more marines looked like you, I might've joined the Alliance instead of C-Sec." Harkin replied.

Someone stab me in the eye…please. I just threw up in my mouth…and I really want to spit it all over him. She shook her head in disgust. "I'm looking for a turian C-Sec officer named Garrus."

"I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the captain tell you he used to be a Spectre?" Harkin asked. "No? Well, it was all very hush-hush. He screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. He blamed Saren for setting him up. The hero's fall. Classic tragedy. Ha!"

"Garrus?" She asked pointedly.

"He was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs a med-clinic on the other side of the wards."

"Can you tell me anything about him?" She asked him.

"Damn hot-head is what he is. Still figures he can save the world. Always bucking heads with the executor."

"I should go." She said eager to quit this dive.

She cut through the lower markets and headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs a man waved her down.

"Is that really…wow! It's you!" he said. "You're Commander Shepard, the hero of Eden Prime! I'm so honored to meet you!"

"Sure…Nice to meet you. And you are…?" She asked

"My name is Conrad Verner. They say you killed more than a hundred geth on Eden Prime!"

"Do they? Damn, that's impressive of me." She said with a smile. "Actually, I spent most of my time just trying to stay alive and help the colonists." She admitted.

"I know you're probably busy, but can I get your autograph?" He asked.

"Anything for a fan." She said and signed what he handed her.

"Thanks. My wife is going to be so impressed!" He gushed.

She nodded to him, though doubted his wife would give a damn, and hurried on to the clinic.

The clinic door slid open.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" Dr. Michel said.

"If Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll –"The thug said.

As she walked through the door the thug grabbed Dr. Michele.

"Who are you?" The thug asked.

"Commander Shepard. You have one chance to let her go. I suggest you don't waste it." She said.

With the thug focusing on Commander Shepard, Garrus knew he wouldn't get a better shot. He jumped out from behind the wall and put a bullet into the thug's head. Dr. Michel screamed when Blood splattered her as captor fell to the ground.

Shepard was astounded by both the shot and the audacity he had for risking Dr. Michel's life. The enemies regrouped. With several of them in close proximity, she threw out a singularity. The thugs were easy targets suspended in the air, so she let her team finish them. She focused on the remaining thugs. She lifted her arm, picked them up and flung them against the wall. She pivoted on her heal, amped and charged the final thug. When they were all down she turned her focus to Garrus.

Garrus looked at the woman approaching him and wondered why she made him feel anything. Granted, she was Commander Shepard, but she was also human. He'd never felt anything but passing friendship for a human. Why did this woman stir anything in him? Maybe it was just because he admired her and appreciated her abilities. Surely that was all it was. At least that's all it had better be. "Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." He told her.

"What were you thinking, Garrus? You don't take chances with a hostage's life! You could have hit her! There is always a better way." She countered.

"There wasn't time to think! I just reacted. I didn't meant to – Dr Michel? Are you hurt?" Garrus asked the doctor.

"Scared out of my mind, but otherwise I'll…I'll be okay. Thanks to all of you." Dr. Michel said gratefully.

"I know you're afraid. But I'm here to help. It's what I do." Shepard assured her.

"They work for Fist," the doctor said nervously. "They wanted to shut me up so I wouldn't tell Garrus about the quarian."

"Did the quarian mention anything about Saren or geth?" Shepard asked.

"Yes…Yes, she did. She mentioned she had information regarding the geth." Michel told her.

"Then it's time we paid Fist a visit." Shepard said firmly.

"Shepard, I want to bring down Saren as much as you do. I want to be a part of this." Garrus told her.

"Why do you want to bring him down?" Shepard asked him.

"Saren's a traitor to the Council; and a disgrace to my people!" Garrus said in outrage.

"I knew we'd meet again, Garrus. Glad to have you with me." She said.

"Fisk is going to be waiting for us. We need to take him down hard." Garrus said.

"Then let's head to C'Sec and see if Wrex wants to join the party."

They left the clinic and went down the stairs to C-Sec. As they entered they heard a commotion off to the left.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him." The officer told Wrex.

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex stated plainly.

"Will you take them from me?" Shepard interrupted.

"Should I know you, human?" Wrex asked.

"Shepard. And I'm going after Fist. Thought you might be interested."

"Shepard? Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you." Wrex said in respect. "We are both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows we're coming. We need to work together." Garrus pointed out.

"Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend." Wrex quoted.

"Glad to have you on the team, Wrex." Shepard said and shook his hand. "Let's go pay Fist a visit."

"I've been waiting all day for that." Wrex grumbled. "Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."

They headed up out of C-Sec and hit the rapid transit to Chora's Den. As they approached it they noticed it was eerily quiet. Chora's Den was closed…obviously because they were expecting…company. The door opened as they approached. The room swarmed with armed men. Garrus took down the one hiding on a platform above the bar.

Shepard threw a singularity to the left; a whopping 6 men were pulled into it. Probably a bloody record for her. Then she flung one out to the right and two men were pulled into that one. She raised her hand, lifted 2 more in the air and threw them at the singularity. She left those men for her squad to clean up and she threw another singularity to the left to take the place of the dying one. Time for target practice.

When the initial wave of men were taken down she headed towards the backroom. Two more men were guarding the door. They were near each other and her shotgun took out both of them at the same time. Their bodies flung away from each other, smoldering masses of ruin.

"You having a bbq and didn't invite me, Shepard? I'm hurt. Smells good." Wrex said as he made his way into the back room.

"Just human, Wrex. Probably stringy and gamey." Shepard said.

"You're right. Turian is tastier. Real tender and flakey if cooked just right." Wrex said, while giving Garrus a good once over.

"Wrex! That turian is mine. You can't eat him. Play nice." She admonished.

"Way to spoil my fun, Shepard." Wrex groused.

Garrus' heart gave a lurch when he heard her call him hers. Maybe because he wanted to feel like he was a part of something bigger. Something that mattered. That he belonged. He never truly felt he belonged anywhere. He wasn't a very typical turian and it made him stand out…and not in a particularly good way. But Shepard was different - she stood out too. Not that he was anything like Shepard…Oh spirits...he needed to find something else to think about, because he was spending far too much time thinking about her.

Shepard opened the next door and two men pulled guns on them. That'll do, Garrus thought.

"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" One of the men shouted.

"Warehouse workers?" Garrus said surprised. "All of the real guards must be dead."

"Stay back or we'll shoot!" The other man shouted.

"Gentleman, I think now would be a real good time for you to beat feet." Shepard told them matter of fact.

The worker looked at the heavily armed trio that had just taken down a dozen men out front. He nodded. "I couldn't agree more. Besides, I need to clean the mess out of my pants before I go home." The warehouse worker complained.

"Do you have an extra pair of pants I could borrow?" The other one asked as they were heading out the door.

"It would have been quicker to just kill them." Wrex grumbled.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Garrus told him.

Wrex shrugged. "It's more fun."

They wound their way through a crap ton of crates, she stopped to pillage some omni-gel from a locker, and then they made their way through two sets of doors before she heard a very disgruntled man say, "Why do I have to do everything myself? Time to die, little soldiers."

Two defense turrets popped up, with accurate sensors and a deadly spray of fire. She pulled her shotgun, loaded with high explosive ammo; it took two shots to bring it down. She turned her attention to the second turret, but her team had already taken care of it. She amped and charged Fist. She pulled up enough so that he went flying to the ground rather than to his maker.

"Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!" Fist shouted, dropping his gun and kicking it away.

"Where is the quarian?" Shepard demanded.

"I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. She said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself" Fist explained.

"Face to face? Impossible!" Wrex said.

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting, it will be Saren's men waiting for her." Fist admitted.

Shepard grabbed Fist by the armor and pulled him down to her eye level. "I want the location. Now," she said coldly.

"She's in the back alley by the markets. They're meeting now." Fist divulged.

She nodded and released him. When she stepped away Wrex pulled his shot gun and ended Fist.

"What are you doing?" Garrus yelled.

"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done." Wrex said simply.

"He surrendered! We don't shoot unarmed prisoners." Shepard retorted.

"How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself." Wrex pointed out.

"That quarian's dead if we don't go _now_." Garrus interrupted.

"Move out." Shepard demanded and the men fell into line behind her. They ran out of Fist's office and into an ambush. As ambushes go, it was pretty weak. Only about 6-7 goons. Really? So below my pay grade, she sighed. She threw out a singularity, entrapping three of them, sent another crashing over a table and into a wall and let her team mop up anything they felt like mopping. She could still hear Wrex's shot gun as she walked out the front door. Apparently Wrex likes to clean.

Garrus looked around. What the hell? She was already gone. Damn it!

She ran up the stairs and into the back alley. She put her hand up when her team came up behind her to halt them.

A turian walked up to the quarian. "Did you bring it," he asked.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" She asked.

The turian ran his hand along her arm. "Where's the evidence?" He asked.

"No way," she said shoving his hand away. "The deal's off."

The turian backed away and nodded to his cohorts, who pulled their guns. The quarian fired at the salarian troopers, sending them sprawling backwards. They regained their footing just as the quarian ducked behind cover. Hope this isn't overkill, Shepard thought as she threw out a singularity. It landed square in the middle of the room, enemy and large, heavy cartons alike were sucked in by its force. She threw a barrier bubble at the quarian to keep her from flying into the singularity. Bodies smashed against hard containers repeatedly until the singularity died out. All that was left was shattered bags of goo being held together by armor. Um…yeah, overkill. Oops.

"Interesting solution, Shepard." Garrus mocked her.

"Bite me, Garrus." She told him.

Garrus raised his brow plates. The fact that he found that idea appealing rubbed him the wrong way on so many levels.

Shepard walked over to the irate quarian.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!" The quarian raged.

"Fist won't be hurting anybody anymore. Are you okay?"

"That's good to know. And I'm fine. Who should I be thanking for the assistance?" The quarian asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard. I'm looking for evidence against Saren. I was told you might be able to help me with that." Shepard responded.

"I'm Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. You were told correctly. It will give me the chance to repay you for saving my life." The quarian said.

"I need to get you to Udina." Shepard informed her.

"Yes," Garrus said. "Your ambassador needs to see this information. Hopefully, it will get Saren's Spectre status revoked."

They made their way out of the back ally and took the rapid transit to the Tower. Udina was waiting for them when they arrived at the Human Embassy. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many - " Udina chastised her.

"Actually, your source is inaccurate. My team didn't fire a single bullet in the wards – biotics only." Shepard responded.

A flush crept up the Ambassador's face. "That's not the point," he said coldly. He paused a moment when he noticed the quarian. "Who's this? What are you up to?" He demanded.

"Making your day, Udina. This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and she has information linking Saren to the geth." Shepard informed him.

"Right. We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" Udina asked her.

"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood. I cannot return to the flotilla until I can bring back something of value to prove I can contribute to our community. I was investigating reports of geth outside the Veil. When I found a patrol, I disabled and removed the memory core of one of them." Tali explained.

"Don't the geth fry their memory cores when they die?" Anderson asked.

"I know what I'm doing. Much of the core was wiped, but I was able to salvage some data, particularly from the audio banks." Tali responded. She flipped on her omni-tool .

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." Saren said with satisfaction.

"That's Saren's voice and it proves he was involved with the attack!" Anderson said, unable to hide his excitement.

"There's more," Tali said. "Saren wasn't working alone." Tali replayed Saren's message and then the part they hadn't heard.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." A female voice stated.

"Are they some kind of new alien species?" Shepard asked Tali.

"According to what I could pull from the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that wiped out the Protheans 50,000 years ago and then vanished."

"Sounds a little farfetched." Udina snarked.

"No, she's right. That is what the beacon showed me. I saw the Reapers wipe out the Protheans." Shepard stated.

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. They follow Saren because they believe he knows how to bring the Reapers back." Tali explained.

"We need to present this to the Council right away." Udina said sternly.

"Let me help you, Shepard." Tali said.

"What about your pilgrimage?" Shepard asked concerned.

"I think saving the galaxy is a tad more important than my pilgrimage. My pilgrimage can wait." Tali told her.

"Welcome to my team, Tali." Shepard said, shaking her hand.

They made their way out of the Embassies and took the rapid transit to the Tower. It was time to confront the Council again. The Council better prove to be a whole lot more accommodating or she would go after him alone. She owed it to Eden Prime, to Nihlus, to Garrus, to David, and to the whole damned galaxy.

The Council had already heard the evidence by the time she arrived. They agreed the evidence was damning and that Saren would have his Spectre status revoked and they would make an effort to bring him in to answer for his crimes. The asari Councilor recognized the female with Saren to be Matriarch Benezia, a powerful and revered asari matron. Unfortunately they considered the Reaper threat no more than a hoax perpetuated by Saren to bend the geth to his will.

Udina…being Udina…demanded the Council to send their fleet after Seran. The Council…being the Council…flat out refused. They would not risk war with the Terminus System over a few human colonies.

"There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies." The asari Councilor said.

"No! It's too soon!" The turian Councilor said vehemently.

"If you do not believe my career and abilities meets Spectre qualifications…fine. I will accept the Council's judgment on that. But know this…I _will_ go after him regardless. It is up to you if it is under your command or on my own. The damage he has already done and the damage he is still capable of doing is astronomical. He cannot be ignored. He will not go away. He is a danger to us all."

Garrus couldn't keep his mandibles from spreading wide. She would not be going after Saren alone, even if the Council denied her. This was one ride he was determined to be on, one way or another.

The Council members looked at each other and nodded, and then typed commands into their consoles.

The asari Councilor spoke up. "Commander Shepard please step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel. You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

"I am honored, Councilors." Shepard said with a small bow.

"We are sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him." The salarian Councilor stated.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned." The Councilors quit the room.

The first human Spectre. One step closer to a seat on the Council…And her best chance to bring down Saren. Not bad for a day's work. But, apparently the fates didn't agree. She ended up having to help Dr. Michel avert a blackmailer, stop a rogue AI, scan over 20 keepers to help a scientist learn more about them, help a woman with her sister, help a C-Sec officer with a mod sting, help a reporter's career, clear up an asari consort issue, and helped a C-Sec agent with an evangelical hanar. She needed to get the hell out of Dodge…fast. It was pretty clear if she hung around any longer her nose would keep her so busy she'd never be able to leave.

Udina commed her and told her to meet him down at the docking bay. Saved by the bell. She couldn't stand Udina, but at least he would give her an excuse for her to keep her nose out of anyone else's business. She needed to find a ship to buy anyway. It was time to go after Saren. They headed down to C-Sec and took the elevator to the docking bay.

Udina and Anderson were both there, in front of the Normandy's berth.

"I've got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours." Udina said.

"Thank you, but I would rather not take his ship from him. I intended to find some kind of frigate to purchase." She told Udina.

"Nonsense Commander. The Normandy is the most advance ship in the Alliance. Her stealth drives will get you in and out of places no other ship could. You need her to help you take down Saren. She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander." Anderson told her.

"If you are sure, Captain. I'll take good care of her." Shepard replied.

"I'm sure, Commander. If she is to go to anyone else, I'm glad it's you." Anderson said.

She turned to her crew. "Go on ahead and get settled in. I'll meet you onboard." They nodded and entered the ship's airlock.

"We had reports of geth activity in the Feros system and around Noveria, you may also wish to talk to Dr. Liara T'Soni, she is Matriarch Benezia's daughter; a Prothean archeologist at a dig in the Artemis Tau cluster." Udina informed her before giving her a harsh look. "You might be a Spectre, but you're still human and your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

Sheapard wanted to tell the ass-weasel to do his damn job, but instead she sucked down her ire and told him she'd try not to make things harder for him. Though, in truth, _try_ is a very relative word. She watched Udina take his leave.

"Why are you stepping down, David?" Shepard asked.

"I was in your shoes twenty years ago, child. They were considering me for the Spectres. I failed. It's not something I'm proud of. I had my shot. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes." Anderson said.

"I won't let you down, David. But I know this can't be easy for you." Shepard replied.

"Honestly? This isn't how I pictured my career coming to an end. Pushing papers really isn't my thing. But you're the one who can stop Saren. I believe in you, child. If that means I have to step aside, so be it." He told her.

"I'm sorry, David. This is not how I expected things to work out. I should have just told you both no." She said quietly.

"You did right, child. There was no choice for either of us. You need the Normandy far more than I do. She is your best and maybe only chance for success. She will see you through this." David reiterated.

"And, David… I do not think your career is ending. You have never been one to quietly slide into obscurity. That is not the end you will have, dad. This is only a small hiccup." Shepard reassured him as she pulled him in for a brief hug.

"I hope you're right, child." He told her before releasing her and taking a step back. "Now, you go take Saren down hard– and give him a swift kick for me."

Shepard flashed him a smile and turned into the Normandy's airlock.

David's heart skipped a beat when he saw her radiant smile. David shook his head and chuckled… That smile of hers would make the dead stand up and take notice. Damn if he didn't both envy and pity the man who ended up with her. That man was going to have his hands full.

Liara T'Soni

Shepard boarded the Normandy and continued onto the bridge.

"I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives 100 battles and then gets taken down by backroom politics. Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad and you'll be the next head to roll." Joker said.

"I hate it. It's like I'm stealing the ship from him. I was going to buy my own ship, but Anderson and Udina both believe the Normandy is my only real chance in stopping Saren." Shepard admitted.

"Yeah, the captain got screwed. But they were right. I don't see how you can accomplish the mission without the Normandy's capabilities or my piloting genius. Just know, everybody on this ship is behind you 100 percent, Commander." Joker replied.

Shepard opened the com. "This is Commander Shepard. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. The fate of the entire galaxy is at stake. There has never been a more important mission and I can guarantee it won't be easy. Our enemy knows we're coming. Wherever he goes…we'll be there. We will hunt him to the very ends of the galaxy and take him down! I promise you all…Saren _will_ fall!" She released the comm and took a deep breath.

"Nicely done, Commander. The captain would be proud." Joker said.

"The captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail. We won't!" Shepard said grimly and quit the bridge.

"Yes, ma'am." Joker replied.

She wanted to check in with her crew and make sure everyone was getting settled in okay. She took the stairs down, circled around the elevator and saw Kaidan busy working at a terminal. They had a brief talk about the Eden Prime mission and the Council, and then she headed back to the elevator and took it down to the cargo bay. When the door opened she looked around. Wrex was talking to a crew member, Ashley was busy cleaning and modding weapons and Garrus appeared to be tinkering with the mako. Sure as hell hope he knows what he's doing!

She went to speak with Garrus first. There wasn't really much of a choice. She was drawn to him and needed to find out why. He wasn't really her type, so she knew that couldn't be it. She preferred beautiful men, muscles, big eyes and sensitive, romantic demeanor. She knew that was shallow of her, but you can't help what turns you on. Garrus was skinny, small eyed, hot-headed, and being a turian – probably as sensitive and romantic as a rock. Ok, that wasn't really fair. She did find herself liking Nihlus and he was a turian. If she was honest with herself, she was probably just a bit put out with him for firing on the man holding Dr. Michel. Taking out the man was more important to him than insuring her safety. That just didn't fly with her. Come to think of it she was put out with Wrex for killing Fist, but then she wasn't drawn to Wrex.

"Garrus, how do you like the Normandy?" She asked him.

"It's beautiful ship, Commander. I can't wait to put her through her paces. See what she can do." He said, his mandibles spreading wide.

"Shepard, please…I'm flying as a Spectre now, not military."

"Ok..Shepard." He said slowly.

A shiver went down her back. Damn me if he doesn't have a sexy voice. "Did you find something wrong with the Mako?" She asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle. I was just calibrating the weapons and shields for greater efficiency." He responded with a shrug. "I wanted to thank you for bringing me onboard…Shepard. I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec." Garrus said.

"What do you mean? Have you worked with a Spectre before?" She asked.

"Well, no," He admitted. "But I know what they're like."

"Do you?" She said with a smile. "We are not all alike, Garrus…and I think you will come to find that I can be very…different." She told him.

"Then we will share that distinction, Shepard. At least I will not be _different_ alone now," his mandibles gave a slight flare. "But, what I meant was Spectres make their own rules. You're free to handle things your way. At C-Sec, you're buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back." He said.

"True, but those rules are usually there to provide safety for everyone involved." She responded.

"Maybe. But sometimes it feels the rules are only there to stop me from doing my job. If I'm trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it. That's why I left." He said frustrated.

"If you become what you hunt, then you are no better than the criminal. Saren never let anything or anyone get in his way. He would kill hundreds if they came between him and his target. Is that what you want to be? Ruthless and cold? Finish the job at any cost?"

"Well, no. Not when you put it that way. That's not what I want to be," He said pausing a moment. "How C-Sec handled the Saren case is very typical. That's why I joined with you, er – teamed up with you. It's a chance for me to see how things are done outside of C-Sec. It will be nice to get a job done without all the red tape."

"I still have a moral code that I follow, Garrus. I did not sacrifice my soul to become a Spectre. I do not put innocents in danger for the sake of the mission. I find a better way. If this is something you can agree with, then I'm sure we will work very well together." She told him.

"I understand, Shepard. And thank you. I look forward to being under you." Shepard's smile nearly knocked him on his ass. He wheezed in a breath before he remembered to breathe again. Spirits. That was going to take some getting used to. What did he say to earn that smile? Then his mouth fell open and his mandibles dropped. He did not just say that to his commander.

"I know what you meant, Garrus, and I'm glad you are here. I look forward to being…_over_ you." She said with a wink and headed over to check in on Wrex.

Wrex was an interesting man. They discussed how the deployment of the genophage had caused most krogan babies to die in the womb, that it was slowly causing his people to go extinct. He also told her how krogan preferred fighting to science and therefore were not trying to find a cure for it. He had pretty much given up on krogans all together.

"Sometimes a single person can make a difference, Wrex." She told him.

"I'm not you, Shepard." He grumbled.

"You don't have to be." She said with a smile.

Wrex watched her go…still a little fazed by her smile. He just knew things were going to get interesting with that one.

As she approached Ashley, she noticed the woman looked sad. "What are you thinking about, Ashley?" She asked her.

"Eden Prime. I just wish you could have gotten there sooner." Ashley admitted.

"I know. I do too. We came as soon as we got the distress call, but even with the fastest ship in the fleet, there was just not enough time." Shepard said.

"You did everything you could. It's my fault. I should have been more prepared…more alert." Ashley replied.

"It wouldn't have mattered how alert you were. There were too many. That you survived at all is a bloody miracle." Shepard assured her and took her leave.

One more crew member and they could be on their way. She knew not every captain spent time with their crew, but she intended to. She wanted to get to know them. She wanted them to know they were important to her, that they weren't expendable. She was determined to earn both their respect and their trust.

As she stepped into the engineering room, Chief Engineer Adams waved her down.

"That quarian is amazing! I wish my guys were half as smart as she is. Give her a month on board and she'll know more about our engines than I do! She's got a real knack for technology. I can see why you wanted her to come along." Adams said with respect.

"Carry on, Adams," she said and continued on to Tali.

"Your ship is amazing! Most of our ships are second-hand, some as old as 300 years. I can't believe you fit that drive core in a ship this small. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced." Tali stated with excitement.

"The Normandy is a turian-human design prototype. Cutting edge technology." She informed her.

"Well, thank you for bringing me with you. Being on a ship like this is a dream come true for me." Tali said.

The days rolled by quickly as they made their way Therum and T'Soni. She was glad they had this time to get to know each other and be more comfortable around each other. They were soon going to have to depend on each other and that is easier if it's not a stranger at your back.

When Joker had informed her that they were nearing Therum, she commed Tali and Kaidan and told them to meet her in the cargo bay in 5.

She was surprised to see her team lined up. "I assume you were made aware of my...eccentricities?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Kaidan said. "I brought them all up to speed on your operation protocol."

"Thank you, Kaidan, it sure helps with the awkward explanations." She said shooting him a smile. She closed her eyes and forced the sight. When she opened them a beautiful rainbow greeted her. "I'm not sure if any of you care to know what your auras look like, but I will tell you anyway, for grins and giggles."

"Tali, your aura is pale green with light grey swirls, sweet, caring, yet determined. Wrex, your aura has oranges and reds pulsing together, aggressive but not evil. Kaidan, your aura is a mirage of blues, calming, centered. Garrus, your aura has greens and blues throbbing and rolling like the waves of an ocean. Ashley, your aura has greens and browns swirling together, strength and fortitude. You all have strong, clean aura's, but two are just a bit brighter. Wrex and Garrus suit up."

Shepard made her goodbyes and headed to her cabin. Time to have a chat with Dr. T'Soni. She suited up and headed down to the Cargo bay. Garrus and Wrex were waiting for her beside the mako. She closed her eyes and focused her sight. She looked over both men and nodded to herself. "Did Kaidan explain my good-luck system?"

Garrus' mandibles made a quick up and down movement and Wrex gave a bark of laughter. "He sure did...so which of us gets the first kiss?" Wrex asked with a big grin on his face.

She walked over to Wrex, pulled down on the neck of his armor and placed a soft kiss on his lower jutting lip. He picked her up, spun her around and let her go with another bark of laughter. He slid a look to Garrus and caught the cold glare before Garrus turned around. Wrex gave another bark of laughter. This was just too much fun.

The moment Garrus saw Shepard walk towards Wrex a wave of relief hit him hard. It was better this way. Better or not, he could not stop the tide of jealousy and resentment that washed over him when he saw their lips meet, when he saw Wrex wrap her in his arms. He turned around and stepped into the mako.

The Normandy's rear hatch opened and mako rolled out. She fired the thrusters as the neared the ground to lessen the impact. Garrus sat beside her taking care of navigation and scanners. Wrex sat behind her on the guns, just the way he liked it. Garrus scanned the area and pulled up a map. Stars, Joker, she thought…did you have to drop us so far away?

They rounded the first bend and were just about to round a second when a geth dropship dropped two armatures in front of them. Damned shield suckers. She rocked back and forth trying to avoid fire while Wrex took them down.

They crossed another land bridge and Garrus warned of enemy targets ahead. She slowed down and approached cautiously. Three rocket turrets defended a large metal door. She used the rock outcroppings as cover and hung her ass out far enough for Wrex to take pot shots at the turrets. In this way they were able to take them out without much damage to the mako. As they approached the hanger they realized there was no way in, so she backed up to circle around and find another entrance.

They slipped through a break in the rock wall and followed it around, as she drove under a metal platform another turret fired on them. They were in the open and exposed. "Wrex! Take it down!" she yelled.

"What do you think I'm doing back here? Scratching my ass?" Wrex grumbled loudly.

The edged around the turret after it was destroyed and several geth troopers began firing at them . They jumped from the mako. She ordered them to cover. "Take a knee!" She told them as she took out her sniper. They looked at her strangely until they saw her take out her sniper. Garrus nodded his approval, Wrex grumbled.

The head flew off one of the troopers. Nice shot. She looked over at Garrus when he yelled, "Scratched one!" He turned to her and spread his mandibles wide and nodded. Looks like she was in for a bit of competition. She wasn't about to let anyone take her title without a fight.

They hopped back into the mako when the last geth fell and proceeded into the facility. She needed to get the doors open, so time to explore the buildings. In the first one she entered she found some interesting mods, but nothing more. A geth was stationed in the second building. She raised her arm, lifted it in the air, and kept going. The gunfire behind her told her that her team was taking care of the geth. She grabbed some omni-gel out of a locker and slammed her hand to big green pad and the doors cranked open.

They headed across the compound to the other buildings. Wrex grunted, "Nothing but, rocks, dirt, and lava…reminds me of home."

"Sounds hospitable.." She said sarcastically.

"Not even on its best days." Wrex said with a smile.

Absolutely nothing in the first building. Another geth was found in the second building. She raised her arm and gave it a toss in the air and moved on to slap the green release pad. She could still hear the geth warbling, apparently when she tossed it up it had gone through the open ceiling. Oops. She flipped on her omni-tool and scanned the area. She followed the ping out of the building to the catwalk between the buildings. She could hear it, but she couldn't see it. She flung up a singularity. It tossed the geth to the ground a few yards away, it put up a holo-shield. She poured bullets into the shield, but it wouldn't go down. What? It was like she was firing blanks. She was going to turn her pistol into Williams and have her look at it. She pulled her shotgun, but Wrex and Garrus had already blown it to hell. She shrugged. Can't win them all, and headed back to the mako.

As they exited the facility a geth armature activated. Did these geth have no sense of self preservation? Apparently, they too had to complete their mission regardless the cost. And the cost was going to be great indeed, because she had no intention of letting that happen.

Seems the road was going to be littered with armatures. They took down a second rounded a bend and three fired down at her. By the time the second was downed, Garrus yelled, "Shields are at 20% back off, Shepard." As she was backing away they were nailed again by another ball of energy and a warning started beeping, shields were all but gone. She dodged behind a rock outcropping and the wait was on. It was a slow nightmare waiting for mako shields to repair.

She turned in her seat to look at Garrus while he was making small talk with Wrex. Why was she being pulled towards this man?

Garrus felt the weight of her stare and turned towards her. Neither seemed to be able to look away. Neither said a word.

"So that's the way it's going to be." Wrex said looking from one to the other. Both ignored him. He wasn't much used to that and didn't much care to be ignored. "You can gawk at each other later, lovebirds, our shields are up!" Wrex growled loudly.

They both jumped and faced forward. Garrus cleared his throat and scanned for enemies. Shepard felt the heat creeping into her face. Damn she hated blushing. What _was _that? Was she attracted to him? Is that what the pull was? No, couldn't be. She'd been attracted to people in the past and had never felt the pull. So, something else was up. Attracted to him or not, there was another reason she was being drawn to him. She just needed to figure out what it was.

"I'm seeing six enemy signatures ahead, Shepard" Garrus said, his voice cracking over her name. He cleared his throat again. Spirits. He needed to get his head out of his ass. That was his commander, a woman he respected. He needed to take a step back and regroup. He _would_ control this…whatever it was he was feeling. He would not let it interfere with their mission.

She pulled up next to a rock outcropping and they disembarked. "Take a knee," she said and pulled her sniper. They took the geth troopers down pretty fast. But, she'd put five high explosive rounds into the geth colossus and it looked no worse for wear. Time for the big guns. Shit! A ball of blue was coming at her. She dove to the side; her face still tingled from the energy ball's near hit.

"That was cutting things a bit close, Shepard." Garrus said, unable to keep the worry from his voice.

"I'm tougher than I look," she told him.

"Maybe so, but let me have a look." Garrus said. He gently touched her chin and moved her head to the side so he could see the damage. The side of her face was bright red with a few blisters. "That's going to sting for awhile," He said softly and gave her a dose of medi-gel.

"Not as long as you'd think." She said.

He raised his eyebrow plate, dropped his hand from her chin, and backed away to put some distance between them so that he could breath…and think.

"I heal quickly." She assured him. She cocked her head at him. "You don't have to stand so far away. I don't bite…well, not _too_ hard anyway." She said as she hopped back into the mako.

That thought sent a shiver down Garrus' back and he didn't want to look too closely at the why of it.

They headed up the ramp to a tunnel. "Two signatures scanned, Shepard. Probably at the end of this tunnel. As they skirted through the tunnel, no enemies ambushed them, so Garrus had been correct. She pulled over and climbed out of the mako. She pulled her sniper, hunkered down and made her way to the edge of the tunnel. There were three geth firing rockets at them. The rockets were hitting low, so she took aim blew the head off the farthest one. The one on the left exploded, while she took a bead on the geth that was lying on the ground shooting rockets. She pulled the trigger and it spun off to the left, a flaming wreck.

They climbed back in the mako and took the ramp down.

"You're a pretty good shot there, Shepard. It takes a lot to impress me, but I'm impressed. Of course, you're not as good as I am, but very impressive for a biotic." Garrus said.

She slammed on the brakes and Wrex gave a bark of laughter.

She swung her head around and sent Garrus a cold stare. "Impressive for a biotic? I couldn't have been more offended if you'd said impressive for a human or impressive for a woman. I'll have you know that being a biotic does not hamper my ability with a gun. I can out-shoot just about anyone and I'm the best shot on the ship…and it's not because everyone else is lousy…it's because I'm that damned good!" She told him crossly.

Garrus held his hands up. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I didn't mean to offend you. I've just never met a biotic that has had that kind of training in weapons. I just wanted to give you a compliment. My wording was…thoughtless."

"No...I'm sorry. You couldn't have known that was a touchy subject with me. I had to work hard for people to see past my biotics and take me seriously as a soldier. But, just so you know…I don't intend to just hand my title over to you. If you want best shot on the ship, I'm going to make you work for it."

Garrus threw his head back and laughed. "That's a challenge I can't ignore. And when I win that title, I expect you to present it to me personally."

They shook on it. "Your face is better, by the way." Garrus said quietly.

"I told you I heal quickly." But usually not that quickly, she thought.

She drove across the rocky plain towards another tunnel in the distance. Once in the tunnel Garrus warned them of two synthetic signatures up ahead. They took them out and continued until Garrus warned of more synthetic signatures. She hopped out, took a knee and head shot two geth with her sniper. There was one more down there, but she couldn't see it. She aimed and shot its cover. It jumped away from the cover and she shot him in the chest. He burst into flame, flew into the air and went flying into the lava lake nearby. Sweet! Double death! She turned to Garrus and gave him a smug look. "Ah, Garrus you are making this too easy for me. If you intend to take my title…you best do better than that."

"Is that how it's going to be, Shepard? You're on. You, dear lady, will soon be under me..er – title-wise." He said, very grateful turians couldn't blush…or at least grateful that it didn't show. He caught another smile from Shepard and his heart gave a painful thud.

Wrex saw Garrus stiffen. Poor kid, he must have been struck by one of her smiles. It could bring the best of us low, he commiserated. He walked over to Garrus and gave him a pat on the back. Garrus stumbled forward, but tried to remain cool about it.

They climbed back into the mako. When the path came to an end, Garrus pointed out a small opening. "Looks like we're on foot from here." Garrus said.

"Perhaps not," she said. "Hang on." She rammed the rocks and turned to the right. She backed up and rammed it again, her tires caught and the mako tilted on its side. She got hung up on a rock outcropping on the other side. She backed up and rocked forward, turning towards the left. Still stuck. She backed up a bit further, turned the wheels towards the left and was able to pull free. They were in. And immediately under fire. "I have nowhere to go…just shoot!" She told Wrex.

"I'm shooting! I'm shooting!" he growled.

They took down three geth and proceeded up the path. They came to a heavily fortified area. Geth were shooting from the ground and from on high. She had no place to go, so she and Garrus just sat there watching Wrex blow each of them away with the cannon.

"Maybe we should get out and play. Wrex here is having all the fun."

"I have a feeling we'll be getting out all too soon. But no reason why we can't have a little fun while Wrex is busy. What would you like to do? Compare embarrassing stories? Play a card game? Or…?" She asked Garrus.

Garrus' mandibles dropped when his mind went somewhere it shouldn't. "Fun, yes...I, er – hmmm…I think I have a deck of cards." Cards...right. Because cards were certainly topmost on his mind right now. Spirits. Someone needed to bitch-slap his mind out of the gutter, because his armor was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Very funny you pyjaks – Wrex wants to blow up more geth, so get a move on it." Wrex stated.

They made their way slowly through the maze of rocks up the hill towards the compound. When they reached the compound a geth dropship rained down more toys to play with. Wrex laughed in glee and started blowing everything to bits.

Shepard and Garrus looked at each other. "I've got something to pass the time. My grandpa told me this when I was little:

Ladies and Gentlemen, do not doubt, I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about; The Admission is free, so pay at the door, Now pull up a chair and sit on the floor.

One fine day in the middle of the night, Two dead boys got up to fight; Back to back they faced each other, Drew their swords and shot each other.

A deaf policeman heard the noise and came and shot those two dead boys. But if you doubt my lies are true, Just ask the blind man, he saw it too!

Garrus' mouth and mandibles dropped. What the hell was that? "That was absurd."

"Absolutely. I never said he was a poet!" She said with big grin.

Garrus' mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

"Will you stop smiling at the kid, before you kill him." Wrex said. He chuckled when he caught the cold glare Garrus sent him.

"Right…Death by smile, eh Wrex?" She said beaming her smile at him.

Wrex stopped for a moment and just looked. He shook his head. "Don't smile at me either," he grumbled. And it was Garrus' turn to laugh.

"Tough crowd." She mumbled to herself.

"Scanners are clean, Shepard." Garrus told her. They exited the mako and made their way up a ramp and down into the mine. A geth was at the first walkway landing, she blasted it with her shotgun, but it didn't go down. A red ball of energy struck her; she staggered back and fell to a knee.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled, taking out the geth.

"I'm okay," she said, shaking it off. She caught sight of a geth below them out of the corner of her eye. She turned and blasted it. It screamed and melted into sludge. That's more like it, she thought. Nodding in satisfaction.

Another geth came running across the platform from the right. She raised her arm and lifted it in the air and threw it to the ground below. She nodded to Garrus and he blew its head off for good measure.

They took the walkway down to an elevator. When the elevator doors came open 3 drones ambushed them. "Overload them!" She yelled and sent a drain charge at the closest one. The one Garrus sent an overload charge at exploded.

"Shields down!" Garrus yelled.

Shepard jumped in front of him, sent another drain charge at the first one she attacked and it went down. She turned, threw a barrier field in front of Garrus and focused her AR on the third remaining drone. Wrex claimed the kill shot for that one. Who was she to argue with an 800 pound krogan?

Garrus walked around the field when his shields went back up. She held out her hand and drew the energy back into her, glowing briefly in the process. "Thank you, Shepard. You know I've never seen a Prothean ruin before…besides the Citadel."

"That's not exactly a _ruin_." She said with a chuckle.

"Point. But, I wonder what Dr. T'Soni is looking for in here. Most Prothean ruins have nothing more than dead instrumentation."

They continued down the ramp and into another elevator. This one shorted out before reaching the next level. They jumped down to the ramp below and heard someone calling out.

"Hello? Can someone help me please?" A female voice inquired.

Shepard walked up to the blue field, which contained an asari.

"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help." The woman said.

"Are you Dr. T'Soni? Are you okay? What happened to you?" Shepard asked her.

"Thank the Godess, I did not think anyone would come looking for me. Listen. This thing I'm in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it." She said.

"Your mother is working for Saren, are you?" Shepard asked.

"What? No! I may be Benezia's daughter, but I'm nothing like her. I have not spoken to her in years. Please just help me get out of here." Liara Said.

"How did you end up in there?" Shepard asked.

"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to." Liara explained.

"We'll find some way to get you out." Shepard assured her.

"There is a control panel in here that should deactivate it. You'll have to find some way past the curtain though. Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying to get past the barrier as well."

As she turned around she caught movement in the distance. "Take a knee!" She pulled out her sniper and a geth hiding behind what appeard to be a very large engine. She turned it to sludge and focused on the geth that had been beside it. She managed to take it down before it could get into cover. A third geth had come from the side of the engine and lobbed a red energy ball at her. She rolled out of the way, amped and charged it. But, one of her team took it down in the span it took her to get there.

"Damn it!" Garrus swore and took off after Shepard, Wrex hot on his heels.

She scanned the floor, but could not pick up any more signatures. Her lootdar sent her over to a storage shed. She collected the ammo she found and ignored the guns in the second shed. She didn't need them.

Then she turned and headed back to the huge engine and discovered it was a mining laser. She hacked into it and a molten laser beam cut into the rock, melting its way through to the other side of Liara's chamber. They gave it a few moments to cool and headed into the newly made tunnel. They passed through a non-activated chamber and found an elevator lift that they took up to Liara's chamber.

As they approached her backside, she turned her head as far as she could. "How did you get in here? I didn't think there was a way past the barrier." Liara said.

"I used a mining laser. Now, how do we get you out of there before more geth arrive?" Shepard asked her.

"That button there," she said pointing, "should shut down my containment field."

Shepard walked over to the console and activated it. The containment field winked out and Liara turned to face her rescuer gratefully.

"Do you know the fastest way out of here?"

"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here…Come on, it's this way!" Liara told them. "Do you know why the geth are after me? Do you think Benezia is involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it."

"The Conduit? But, I don't know - "

A rumbling noise startled them. "What the hell was that?"

"These ruins are not stable. That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry; the whole place could cave in." Liara said as she activated the elevator.

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. Now." Shepard demanded.

"Aye-Aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA in eight minutes." Joker replied.

"I don't think we have eight minutes, Shepard!" Garrus pointed out.

"If I die, I'm going to kill him!" Wrex growled.

When the elevator came to a stop four geth and a krogan approached them. Liara ducked down on the ground. "Surrender. Or don't." He shrugged. "That would be more fun."

"Fun for me, I imagine…not so much for you." Shepard warned him.

"Ha! I like your attitude!" The krogan said.

She threw a stasis bubble at the krogan, so that they could all focus on the geth. She amped and charged one of the geth. Used her shotgun on the second, turning it into slag. She walked up to the krogan frozen in stasis. "I believe I told you this wouldn't be fun for you. Care to know how this ends?" She asked him. She manipulated the bubble to free his face so he could talk.

The krogan gave her a smile "I'm Ganar Cleet; you'd make a damn fine krogan."

Shepard smiled at him. "Commander Shepard. Spectre. If I let you go will you walk away?"

Cleet stared at the woman in front of him. Her smile left him breathless, his heart slamming in his chest. "Saren wants the asari. I will bring her to him." He said thickly.

"I will kill you if you try to take her." Shepard pointed out.

"I'd rather die by your hand, pretty lady, than Saren's. I trust you will kill me quickly?" He asked.

Shepard nodded. "That is unfortunate. Good bye, Ganar Cleet." She said and pulled the trigger. She pulled the energy of the Stasis bubble back into her. When she turned the last geth was falling.

The rumbling began in earnest and they beat feet like the hounds of hell were licking at their heels. The shaking intensified, dust and boulders rained down upon them. "Move it!" She yelled. Shepard could have charged at any time, but she would never leave her team behind. She made sure she was always the last to leave a location, the last to board the ship. As they hit the exit of the mine shaft, a belch of sulfer and ash followed them out.

She was never more thankful that she had brought the mako in with them. They hopped in the mako and hit the thrusters, slamming in through the cargo bay's open hatch, while Joker got them out of there.

"Hit the showers everyone, we'll meet up in the comm room in 20." She knew she stank to high hell. The sulfur clung to her like a second skin. She dropped her armor off at the armory to have it finely detailed, and then she hurried off to her cabin, careful to avoid as many people as she could. She peeled off her under-suit, tossed it down the laundry chute and stepped into the hot shower. She grabbed her luffa, poured a liberal amount of vanilla spice gel onto it and scrubbed her skin pink.

As she walked into the comm room, Joker was quick to voice his opinion on their departure.

"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." Joker said sarcastically.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked.

"It's a coping mechanism, you'll get used to it." Shepard explained.

"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander." Liara said. "But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. Not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me or dragged me off to Saren."

"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked Liara.

"Only that is was connected to the Prothean extinction. I have spent the last fifty years trying to piece together what happened to them." Liara told them.

"Fifty years? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm only 106." Liara said with embarrassment.

"Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age." Ashley said in awe.

"Among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child." Liara admitted. "That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves, why my theories are dismissed."

"What is your theory?" Shepard asked her.

"According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them; it has repeated itself many times over. The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. I've dedicated my life to figuring out how and why they vanished."

"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The Reapers." Shepard told her.

"The Reapers? But I have never heard of – How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Liar asked skeptically.

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out just what it means."

"That makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the user's mind. Finding one that works is very rare. But the beacons were programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have utterly destroyed by the process. You must be extremely strong willed, Commander." Liara said in awe.

"This isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit." Garrus interrupted. He didn't like the asari fawning all over Shepard like that.

"If Saren wants you dead or alive, I can't think of a better place for you to be than here." Shepard told her. "Welcome to the team, Liara."

"Thank you, Commander. I am very grate – whoa. I'm afraid I'm feeling light-headed." Liara

"Dr. Chakwas should look you over," said Kaidan.

"Yes, we can talk more after you've seen the doctor, Liara. The rest of you…dismissed." Shepard said.

She sent her report to the council and commed them for a debriefing on the mission. The turian Councilor was an ass as always. She doubted he'd ever forgive her for becoming involved with Nihlus. The other two were remarkable cordial to her and wished her well.

Time to shake down her crew...it wold be awhile before they arrived at their next mission. Kaidan was at his usual spot, so she stopped in to see him first.

"Can I have a word with you, Commander?"

"Absolutely. What can I help you with?" She asked him.

"Saren is off to bring down all galactic civilization and the council doesn't want to help? Sorry, Commander, but the writing's on the wall here and someone isn't reading it." Kaidan said frustrated.

"I guess it is in the nature of all beings to ignore what they don't want to face." She told him.

He then went on to tell her about 'brain camp' where the first human biotics were studied and trained. How perhaps all element zero exposures weren't accidental… And about a girl named Rahna that he'd been sweet on. "She was smart, charming as hell; beautiful, but not stuck up about it. Like you…ma'am." He told her. " Out of curiosity, do you make a habit of getting this personal with everyone?"

She flushed a bit. "I guess I do. I tend to have a big nose. If it makes you uncomfortable, let me know."

"I'm not uncomfortable, just trying to…uh, figure you out." He said.

Shepard laughed and shot him a smile. "If you manage it, let me know…I've been trying for years. I've enjoyed getting to know you, Kaidan. We'll talk more later."

"I'd…like that." He said, his voice cracking. How does she do that to me? He thought as she walked away. A look...a word…a smile…and I'm blown away. She's my commander. I have no business feeling this way about her. But, whenever I'm around her, I'm this tangled mess inside. He turned to get back to the work he'd been doing. But he couldn't keep his mind focused; it kept slipping back to his commander. Time to hit the fitness room…give himself another outlet.

Shepard headed over to the med-bay to check on Liara and see if she was feeling any better. She asked Dr. Chakwas about Liara and she pointed to the back room. Shepard nodded her thanks and continued in to the next room.

Liara jumped up from her console. "Commander, are you coming to check up on me?"

"Shepard please, Liara. You are looking much better. How are you feeling?" Shepard asked her.

"Dr. Chakwas assures me I'm going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of asari physiology." Liara said.

"You're in good hands with Chakwas. She's the best. I trust her." Shepard stated.

"I know you took a chance bringing me aboard this ship. I have seen the way your crew looks at me. They do not trust me," she said sadly. "But I am not Benezia. I will do whatever I can to help you stop Saren."

"I trust you, Liara. And they will too in time."

"Thank you, Commander. That means a lot to me." Liara said in relief.

"Just call me Shepard, Liara." She reiterated. "You don't have to be so formal. Do you know why Benezia would have joined with Saren?"

"I don't understand it, this is not like her. Something changed. She was always so outspoken about the need for the asari to become more involved with galactic events. Maybe she thought allying herself with Saren would somehow be for the greater good in the long run. At least, I hope so." Liara said.

"We'll figure out what happened." She assured Liara with a smile, before turning and leaving.

Liara sat down in her chair. Hard. Goddess! That was some smile, she thought…still in a bit of shock. It seemed she was going to have to guard herself, for she was already liking Shepard too much as it was.

Shepard circled around to the elevator and took it down to the cargo hold. She nodded at the supply man and headed over to Garrus.

"Shepard …It's good to see you." Garrus told her.

"Glad to hear it. It'd be a might awkward if you couldn't stand being around me." She said with a smile.

"Er – Yeah…hmmm," he cleared his throat. "I don't think that will ever be a problem…I mean it takes a lot for someone to stay on my bad side."

"Good to know. Out of curiosity, why did you choose to become a C-Sec officer?" She asked him.

"Hmmm…Good question. Probably the same as most officers. I wanted to fight injustice and help people. I guess my father had something to do with it too. He was C-Sec. One of the best. I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest. He's taking my resignation pretty hard." He admitted.

'He's not impressed that you are going after Saren?" She asked him.

"He thinks I'm being too rash…too impatient. He's worried I'll become just like Saren. He actually talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger. For the same reasons."

"You were asked to be a Spectre?" She asked impressed.

"I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate. Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. My father didn't allow me to have special training. He despises Spectres. He hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability. He wouldn't like you, Shepard. No offense." Garrus remarked.

"I can understand his concern. Power and corruption usually go hand in hand." She acknowledged.

"But we need that power if we want to nail Saren. Saren isn't going to play by the rules and I don't think we'll be able to either." He told her.

"Just because you _can_ break the rules, doesn't mean you have to. I don't need to stoop to Saren's level of depravity to stop him. And neither do you, Garrus." She admonished.

"Thank you, Shepard. I will think about what you've said."

She nodded gave him encouraging smile and headed over to talk to Wrex.

Garrus watched her go and sighed. She did it to him again. Spirits…How do you prepare yourself for a smile like that? Maybe he would have to suck it up and talk to Wrex. Maybe he had the answers. He watched as Wrex melted into a puddle at her feet. Damn. There goes that idea. Probably for the best anyway, Wrex didn't need any more ammunition to use against him. He turned back to the console, but couldn't concentrate. Maybe he'd just go hit the fitness room…a workout might do him some good.

Shepard was smiling when she walked up to Wrex. She was eager to find out what neat little tidbits Wrex would tell her today. Even more surprising today's story involved Saren. Apparently, he and a bunch of other mercs had been hired to raid a massive cargo freighter, a volus trading vessel. Nothing on the ship but food and medical supplies. In walks Seran. He said he got a really bad feeling about him and got the hell off the ship without pay. He found out later all the other mercs had turned up dead within a week.

She let him go and went to Ashley. Ashley wanted to talk off the record. She was concerned with all the aliens onboard. Didn't think they should have access to the ships more sensitive areas. She didn't consider the council races anything more than surface allies. She thought we should learn to rely on ourselves, because the council races may not always be our allies. They then went on to discuss boot camp, surprised they had gone to the same one.

"I can understand where your concerns are coming from, Williams. But this is a multilateral mission. You're going to have to work with aliens. I hope it will not be a problem for you." Shepard said with concern.

"It won't be a problem, Commander. You say 'jump,' I say 'how high?' You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek." Ashley responded.

"If there is any turian kissing, I imagine I'll be the one doing it." Shepard said with a laugh and turned to go.

"On that we can agree, ma'am." Ashley said under her breath. She turned back to Shepard's pistol, determined to find out why it went belly up.

Last stop on her rounds today was Tali. As she walked up to her she noticed her shoulders were stooped.

"Are you okay, Tali?" She asked concerned.

Tali explained how things were so much different here than on the flotilla. It was quiet here, nearly empty, it just felt wrong to her. Like too much was missing. "When I was home I couldn't wait to leave on my pilgrimage, get away from it all, now I miss it." She admitted.

"Maybe the pilgrimage isn't just about finding resources, but about teaching you to appreciate your people and culture." Shepard pointed out.

Tali agreed and thanked Shepard for listening.

"I'm always here for you. Any time you need to talk." She told Tali.

Time to hit the fitness room. She'd been getting a little lax lately.

Feros

She slipped into a royal blue push-up sports bra. It was thickly padded, kept her in place, and gave her cleavage a nice bump. She removed her belly ring, she hated wearing it when she worked out, she'd had it ripped out sparring once and didn't take chances anymore. She pulled on matching sweat-wicking form-fitting leggings with a white stripe down the side of her legs. She drew a towel around her neck, grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the fitness room.

The fitness room was down below opposite of the cargo bay. One side of the room held work out machines of all types, bolted to the floor of course. Mats wove under and around the machines. There were also uneven bars, a balance beam, and a trampoline. Those were her additions. The other side of the room held only mats for sparring and some practice dummies on one side. She noticed Garrus hard at work with one of the dummies. He was in a tan suit with some blue trim. She assumed it was a turian version of a workout suit.

She put down her towel and water and began stretching, covertly watching him workout. She'd never seen a turian workout before. It was uniquely interesting.

Garrus felt her walk in and did his best to pretend he didn't. He finally came to stop when he realized he was getting a little too rough with the practice dummy. He turned to face her. Spirits! She was wearing his colors. He didn't like how his heart quickened. He didn't like how that made him feel inside.

Shepard was atop the beam; she bent at the waste and placed her hands on the beam. She slowly lifted one leg off the beam and into the air, the other joined it and for a brief moment she was suspended upside down, then her back began to slowly bend until first one leg than then other made contact with the beam. It was extraordinary to watch. No turian could move like that. And spirits did she look sexy doing it. She pulled herself upright and then lowered herself into a splits position.

Shepard felt eyes on her; she turned her head and saw Garrus watching her. She placed her hands flat on the beam, pushed off, rotated her body until she was straddling the beam and lowered herself back down facing him. She winced a bit; she'd never been comfortable sitting on the beam this way. She can't imagine what it would feel like for a guy, she'd probably be singing soprano the rest of her life. "Can you toss me my towel?" She asked him, pointing out where she'd put it. He tossed it to her; she wrapped it around her neck and patted her face. She stood up, walked to the end of the beam, tossed him her towel and did a back flip off landing in front of him.

"Now, that was impressive, Shepard." He said, wrapping the towel around her neck. His hands stayed there for just a moment before falling away. Her suit left little to the imagination and he had a fairly good imagination. She was wreaking havoc on his senses. He took a step back and cleared his throat. He headed to his water to take a sip. He needed an excuse to put some distance between them.

"Not any more impressive that what I saw you do to the dummy." She pointed out. "Do you want to dance?" She asked him.

Garrus choked on his water and nearly sprayed it everywhere. "Turians don't dance, Shepard."

She blinked for a moment confused. Then she realized he'd taken her literally. She smiled and then laughed. "Stars, Garrus. I don't dance either. I've got two left feet. I meant do you want to go a few rounds? Spar? Teach me how you fight. I enjoyed watching you and would like for you to show me your moves."

Garrus picked his jaw up off the floor and proceeded to hit himself with it. Why did his mind always fall in the gutter when she was around? He was half tempted to take the stick out of his ass, a stick all turians have, and beat himself over the head with that as well. He needed to stop seeing her as a woman. She was not a woman. Well, she was. But she was his COMMANDER. Get a grip Garrus. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He was sure it would be a mistake getting that close to her, but he didn't feel he had a good enough reason to turn her down…at least not one he cared to share with her.

They squared off on the mat. He explained a few moves and showed her how they were done. Several times he had to grit his teeth and position her arms and legs to get the precise movement he was looking for. His fingers sank into her muscles. It was so intimate that he had to bite back a groan that would have embarrassed them both. He also had to make sure their hips didn't come into contact, because there would be no hiding what she did to him.

Shepard found herself purposely missing movements just to feel his hands on her body. She and Nihlus really hadn't gotten this far, so the feel of his two fingers and thumb were a unique and strangely satisfying experience.

Once he was sure she knew the particular moves he wanted her to, they pulled on forearm and shin guards and began to put the moves into practice. After a few rounds he had to admit he was impressed. She caught on fast and was keeping him on his guard. He spotted a flaw in her movement, stepped in and tossed her onto the mat. She snaked her foot around his and pulled up. He ended up falling on top of her. He landed on his forearms. His face a few inches from hers. They were both breathing hard from their exertions.

She placed her hands against his carapace and laughed. "I'm not big on losing, so I wasn't about to go down without taking you with me."

They both realized he was between her legs at the same time. They both froze, barely even daring to breath. Thankfully, he was too far down for her to feel how very much he wanted her.

Kaidan walked into the fitness room, his mouth opened, unable to believe what he was seeing. Garrus moved over her leg and rolled over onto his back, his carapace held him up just enough that his head was only angled down a bit. And ever so grateful his shirt came down low enough to hide his embarrassment. "I've discovered the hard way that Shepard doesn't like to lose." Garrus explained. "Take her down and she will make sure you go down with her."

Kaidan laughed relieved. "Yes, I learned that lesson the hard way too."

"Laugh it up guys. I'm hitting the shower." And she beat a hasty, albeit cowardly retreat.

For the next couple of weeks they did odd missions for the Alliance, she even took down a few Cerberus and geth bases. She also ended up taking down the two criminal warlords Helena Blake had told her about. She even strong armed the woman into getting out of the business. Here's to good deeds well done.

She had pretty much laid down a schedule. She went to the fitness room the same time every day, unless a mission made her put it off. As the days went by more often than not Garrus was there either before she arrived or shortly thereafter. She liked to think he enjoyed her company, but it was more realistic that he just preferred not to work out alone. When she started putting him on the mats as often as he put her there, he would teach her new moves.

She'd eat dinner in the mess with her crew; she enjoyed getting to know them better. Closer to bed time she would head down to the starboard lounge to watch a vid or read a book and have a few drinks. Occasionally, one or more of the crew would join her. And once in awhile they would all cram in there, drink until dawn and suffer the next morning. All but her, that is. She never suffered from hangovers. She healed too quickly for that. And she rubbed the crews' faces in it every chance she got. Poor sots.

This night Garrus and Kaidan were with her. The vid was over much sooner than expected. They both bid her farewell and took off. She sighed…the night was far too young still. She headed out of the starboard lounge and nearly ran smack into Garrus. "I'm so glad you're here. Tell me you're not tired yet!" She implored him.

"Uh…no, Shepard. I'm er – not tired yet. Did…hmm…did you have something in mind?" He asked uncertain.

"I sure did!" She said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the elevator.

By the time they reached her cabin Garrus was all but sweating. She pulled him into her cabin and the door closed behind them. His nerves were shot. He was about to hightail it and run, he knew he was. Then he saw Shepard go down on her hands and knees, her ass up in the air swaying back and forth as she was going through something at the bottom of her closet. He was mesmerized. He stilled himself when he realized his body had been swaying in time to her movements. He was looking longingly at the door when she shot back up.

"Vid or book? She asked.

The relief nearly dropped him. He'd been fighting the need to pull her into his arms and he knew it wouldn't take much encouragement from her for things to go that route. And that is not a path that needed to be walked.

The vid was a newer action flick, the Traveling Man. The book was Journey to the Center of the Earth. He fingered the leather bound book. Paper books were hard to come by and very expensive. "I haven't seen too many paper books." He said.

"I've got shelves of them. I like the feel of the paper in my hands. I'm a very tactile person. I like to touch." She said with a shrug.

Yeah, she did and that was part of the problem. He chose the book. She grabbed a bottle turian brandy, a bottle of asari honeymead and a couple of glasses. She pointed to the sofa for him to sit, set the bottles and glasses on the table and asked him to pour. She sat down next to him and crossed her legs. He had one arm on the sofa's arm holding his drink, the other he draped along the back of the sofa.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd have turian brandy in your private quarters. Most humans can't drink it." He said curiously.

Shepard flushed. She couldn't tell him she got it in hopes that he'd be there someday, but she could give him a half-truth. "Tali was here the other night watching vids with me. But, no turian brandy doesn't bother my system." She grabbed his glass and took a swig before giving it back to him.

She settled in and began reading. He watched her read, her voice soothing him. He asked questions every now and again and told her how he'd have done a thing if it were him. She liked the interaction. It made the book come to life. She liked debating points with him. After an hour or so she leaned against his side and curled her legs up on the sofa to get more comfortable. Another half hour and his arm settled around her shoulders. She smiled, snuggled into him and kept reading. Her voice eventually started to go. She wasn't used to using her voice this much. She asked him if he wanted to call it a night or if he would like to read for a little bit. She had thought he would leave, but he opted to read.

Garrus had been shocked when she first settled against him. But, she did it so nonchalantly that it didn't make him feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, he liked her snuggled up against him. He liked it too damn much. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to put his arm around her. It was a more comfortable position for his arm, he assured himself.

After about an hour of him reading Shepard gave a slight yawn and wiggled down, putting her head in his lap and her hand on his thigh. He very nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd never had someone lay on him like that. The heat of her hand, her cheek burned into him. He prayed she did not move her head too much or they both could wind up seriously embarrassed. He lowered his hand to her shoulder absently rubbing it as he read. Eventually, he heard a soft snore and he couldn't help but smile. He slowly slipped out from under her, marked the page in the book, put up the bottles and glasses, pulled down her covers, then bent over and picked her up. Whoa. He had a bit too much to drink. He walked them carefully over to her bed and laid her gently on it. He pulled up the covers and swayed. He lay down next to her. I'll go in just a few, he thought.

He felt something move against him and he came awake. His brain was still foggy. He'd been dreaming about Shepard being in his arms, his hand upon her breast, her grinding against his hardness. As soon as the sleep cleared from his head he realized it had not been a dream at all. His hand cupped something soft; the heat of her ass was pressed against him. His other arm was under her neck. And he was under the covers with her. How the hell did he get there? He fell asleep on top of the covers. He lowered his hand to her waist and gave her a light shake. "Shepard, I need to go. Everyone will be waking up soon and…hmmm… I'd just as soon not do the dreaded walk of shame."

"You would be ashamed of us?" She mumbled.

Us? In what life could he ever be lucky enough for there to be an _us_? "No, that's not what I meant. You're the Commander. I wouldn't want the crew to get the – er, wrong idea about us. I wouldn't, uh…want them to think anything _happened_."

"Something did happen." Her mumbling was almost incoherent.

Yes, he thought. It did. I fell in love with you, Commander Shepard, over a book and a glass of brandy…and I can never tell you. Truth be told, he probably fell in love with her in the Council Chambers when he first saw her, but this was the first time he openly admitted it to himself. "Perhaps, but not the _something_ they would imagine."

She rolled towards him further trapping his arm. She placed her hand on the side of his face. "Thank you, Garrus. I had a wonderful evening. If it wasn't too boring for you, perhaps we can do it again sometime."

He lowered his forehead to hers. "I'd like that," he said thickly, before pulling away. She lowered her hand and lifted her head so he could move. He felt a sense of loss when he was no longer touching her. As he stood up beside the bed he looked back down at her; she was already fast asleep. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. Things were different between them now, even if she didn't know it.

Thus began their evening ritual. She still had her evening vid, card game, or party, depending on how many showed up and the mood they were in, but he would always show up at her cabin a half hour after the evening events came to an end. He was now comfortable enough to just walk in when he arrived instead of comming first. The only things that concerned him were Kaidan's and Liara's feelings. He was pretty sure even Tali was a bit in love with Shepard as well, but she was not openly pursuing her like the other two were. He intended to keep an eye on them. If it looked like she was showing too much interest in someone he would come clean with her, but he hoped it wasn't any time too soon. It was easier to pretend she could love him back than to find out for sure she never would. He had never considered himself a coward before, but that woman had the power to break him with a single word; he wasn't eager to face the block.

"We are approaching Feros, Commander. ETA 15 minutes." Joker informed her.

"Thank you, Joker. Com the crew and have them meet at the cargo bay in 15."

"Will do, Commander." He said.

When she walked into the cargo bay she closed her eyes and forced the sight. Goodness, Liara's Blue aura with orange swirls was shining bright today. Kaidan's was the next brightest. She turned to Garrus, a slight frown on her face. She wondered what was disturbing him enough to effect his aura so much.

Garrus had been pacing the cargo bay when he got the comm about leaving soon. He didn't quite know what he was going to do. He was starting to worry his love for Shepard had the potential to become an obsession. The need to be with her, to protect her, to claim her was beginning to feel like an itch he couldn't reach. He knew he was starting to act a little frantic on the days he was left behind and the crew was starting to give him worried looks. He wished like hell he could hide it, but it just seemed to be getting worse. The others assembled in a line and he joined them. When he saw Shepard frown at him he knew he didn't make the cut. No! That wasn't going to fly. This was a major mission; he couldn't bear the thought of being left behind. He didn't know how this aura thing really worked. But, the only thing he could think to do is to calm his mind and think only of how much he loved her.

Shepard headed over to Garrus to find out what was bothering him. Half way there she staggered backwards and threw her arm in front of her eyes. She could barely make Garrus out through his aura. What the hell was that? She released the sight quickly. There were still white spots dancing in her eyes, playing havoc with her vision. "Garrus, Liara gear up…be ready in 10."

Garrus turned around to his locker, his mandibles flared wide. He did it. He bucked her system. Now, he just had to hope it continued to work.

It was nice that the Normandy could dock on Feros. She was sure to need some light repairs and a break. As they stepped out of the airlock and onto Feros, Shepard took another aura peek. Garrus' was still a kilowatt aura. She'd have to ask him about that when they had more time. She released the sight and walked up to Garrus. She knew she would have to kiss him sooner or later. That she hadn't up until now was rather surprising. "You are my good luck giver today, Garrus. Will you accept my kiss?" She asked trying to keep the voice level.

Garrus opened and closed his mouth. He didn't trust himself to say anything. His voice tended to crack like a pubescent boy whenever he got too nervous. He took in a deep breath and nodded. She placed one hand on the neck of his armor to pull him down. He wasn't sure why he didn't think to bend down for her… probably because he wasn't thinking so well right now. Her other hand went rested on the back of his neck. He felt a gentle pressure against his mouth as her warm, soft lips slid against his. It was an odd sensation, but a pleasant one. Fire shot straight to his groin. Ok, pleasant was perhaps a bit of an understatement. As she withdrew her hand slid down the sensitive skin of his neck, shivers raced through him, his heart thundered in his chest, and his shaft swelled painfully hard…made all the more painful because there wasn't all that much room in the armor down there. The idea of kissing had never really appealed to him before, but he would never look at it the same again.

Shepard looked Garrus in the eyes . "Thank you," she said thickly, barely able to keep herself from pulling him down for another. His mouth had been firm, but flexible. Strange, but exciting. And she wanted to do it again. Many more agains. She sighed and backed up until she was brought to a stop.

Garrus quickly dropped his hands from her waist. He hadn't even been aware that he had placed them there. He took a step back, squared his shoulders and gave her a nod. She smiled and turned to take point. His groin gave a painful jerk. He was hard as stone entirely too often around her. He was seriously considering getting new armor.

A man was on the walkway to greet them. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to meet with you immediately."

"Who's Fai Dan?" Shepard asked.

"He's our…leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They are making another push - " He said.

Take cover!" Garrus yelled. But it was too late for the greeter, who was torn apart by geth bullets. Then, the three geth open fired on them. As they fell, more moved in. Both Liara and Shepard threw out singularities. Large crates and geth bodies crashed together. One geth escaped death by crates, but only because he was flung over the balcony to the hard docking bay floor…very far below them.

"They tried to build a life here; but now all they have are ruins." Liara said sadly.

"I can't believe the colony held out as long as they did." Garrus said softly.

They followed the walkway around a corner, Shepard's radar jammed, more geth were nearby. She saw one fly over her head. "Hopper!" She yelled. Damned geth clung to walls like a gecko. Hard as hell to catch. Garrus brought it down before she could even find where it had landed. He gave her a smug look when she glanced over at him. All right. He earned it. She bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Their radar was clear, so they continued down the path to the colony. The colonists would only talk of their fear for the geth, so they continued on. They passed through a mobile home unit and out the other side. Finally, someone was willing to talk.

"I'm Fai Dan, I'm so glad they finally decided to send someone to help us." Fai Dan said.

"It would have been nice had you come sooner." The woman bit out.

"Look, the geth are – They're here!" Fai Dan yelled.

Shepard unsnapped her AR, sent a singularity at them and slipped around them as her team took down the helpless geth. She nabbed one that had been too far away to be pulled into the singularity. She continued down the corridor. She wound her way through the corridor and activated three machines that appeared to be disabled and belonging to the same system. She hoped they weren't deactivated for a good reason. Guess she'd find out later if this was an 'oops' on her part. At the end of the path was a crazy man talking in riddles. He seemed to be fighting something that caused him a great deal of pain, but he didn't appear to want help, so she left him to his own devices. On the way back she crossed over a bridge. Her radar showed there were signatures beyond the wall. The wall slid open and several geth attacked. They were higher up, so she flung up a singularity and continued on, knowing her team would make short work of them.

"Damn it, Shepard – I hate it when you do that." Garrus told her retreating back.

She came out of the corridor into a larger room. Three massive krogan charged them. Liara and she flung out singularities. A favorite quick fix. One was tossed to the other side of the room, she amped and charged him. She hit him full force, no pulling up, and he smashed into the wall behind him and didn't move again.

There was a small room off the end of the larger room and she discovered a large transmitter the geth had been using. She fired on it until it was nothing but smoke and ruin. As they exited back through the wall, her radar picked up organic signatures rather than geth. She wanted to speak to them and make sure they were safe before heading back. She crossed back over the bridge and through the wall on the opposite side. Huge dog creatures slavered, growled, and then attacked them. She and Liara threw out singularities. Three dogs in one, five in another. Hot dog. Or dead dog, in any case. She looked around while she was there and pulled out some salvage from an old tank. Always good to have repair parts on hand, never know when you will need them. Time to head back to Fai Dan and see if there was anything she could do to help the colony.

When she reached Fai Dan he said, "The tower's secure. Thanks to you, Commander."

"I'm just glad your colony is safe now." Shepard said.

"Thank you for your efforts against the geth. It is appreciated." Fai Dan said.

"It won't hold them for long though, they always come back." The woman replied.

"Do you know why the geth have attacked your colony?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know why they're here. The geth's main base is at the Exo-Geni headquarters if you want to look for answers. They are the company that funds the colony. The skyway leads directly to their headquarters." Fai Dan told her.

"Is there anything I can do for the colony before we go?" She asked.

Fai Dan gave her the names of a few key people she could talk to if she wanted to help them further.

Shepard discovered the system she reactivated was the colony's main water supply the geth had deactivated. She also found out the dogs, veran, were a main food staple for the colony, but hunting had become more dangerous since a new pack leader had taken over. She informed the man that the alpha veran would no longer be a problem. She also turned over the salvaged part she acquired. They apparently needed the cells, so she was glad she had thought to scavenge them. She had apparently already accomplished the main needs of the colony. So, now it was time to hit the skyway and take the fight to the geth before they could attack the colony again. They hopped the elevator, when the door opened she heard a man yelling. They drew their guns and ran out firing at the geth attacking the guards. When the threat was cleared they climbed into the mako that had been dropped off for them and headed out the main doors. Garrus hopped in back to ride the guns, Liara sat beside her to run the navigation and scanners. She missed having Garrus beside her, but she knew he was having fun kicking ass with the big guns.

Debris and geth hides littered the skyway. Geth were a major problem. Armatures and geth with rocket launchers were everywhere.

They passed through two waves of geth before they picked up local radio chatter.

"They've got us on visual. They must be close." Liara said.

"Forget about them, we need to focus on the geth." Garrus responded.

"Garrus, have a heart. It won't hurt to take a few minutes to peak in on them. We might be able to aid them or they could have important information that would help us out. We won't know until we check." Shepard told him.

The climbed out of the mako and headed down the ramp into an underground encampment. The small group was safe for the moment. There was a nasty little butt-weasel who worked for Exo-Geni that Shepard wished she could put a bullet into. A woman wanted her daughter found and a man wanted her to collect some data off his terminal at Exo-Geni, but otherwise nothing new was discovered. They climbed back into the mako and back onto the skyway.

After a couple of more geth waves they made it to the end of the line. The door wouldn't open far, but she was able to wiggle the mako close enough that cannon could be fired through the door to weed out some of the geth hiding within. When her radar showed clear, they headed in. A quick walk through only left one way to move forward. They dropped down through an opening to the floor below. There was no going back that way.

As they cleared the rubble, she noticed veran corpses on the ground. They were not alo – a bullet flew between her and Garrus.

"Damn it! Oh – I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or one of those veran." The woman apologized.

They found out she was the missing daughter, Lizbeth, and that she worked for Exo-geni. She had elected to stay behind to download data, but she ended up trapped here. A geth ship latched onto the building and was powering barrier shields to keep people away from the Thorian, a very large, very old, plant-life, which was most likely what the geth were after. She gave Shepard her ID to get her past any locked doors and wished her luck on getting the shields down.

They entered a rear door and heard a krogan yelling at a machine. The machine was nice enough to warn the krogan of their presence and he charged. She threw a stasis bubble at him. She walked up to him. "You really should control that temper of yours. It can lead to all kinds of …problems for you."

Garrus took him out.

"You know, I was going to ask him if he would surrender." She told him.

"And I think we both know what his answer to that would have been." Garrus said matter of fact.

"You are probably right, but it's only sporting to give him the chance." She pointed out.

"I've never met anyone quite like you, Shepard." He admitted.

"And you never will," she said softly.

They were able to get quite a bit of Thorian intel from the VI. Apparently, it controls people through inhalation of its spores and Exo-Geni purposely let it control the Zhu's Hope colony so they could study it. She also learned Lizbeth was aware of all of this, due to her high level clearance.

They continued past the VI and discovered 2 geth below them distracted with something. They destroyed them and jumped down to the lower floor. Huge geth ship claws were anchored onto the side of the building. They needed to find a way to remove the claws. They followed the corridor around and it opened into a room with several geth…Oh joy…here we go again. Once they were down, she headed left through a red corridor and up a flight of stairs. She followed the corridor until it led to another open room and wouldn't you know…more geth.

When the last one fell they headed up a nearby staircase to the floor above. She moved across the crumbling upper level and looked down at the geth gathered below. She flung out a singularity and Liara threw out a second. The geth were flying around in a figure eight. Until they were shot down, of course. At the back of the room was a control for the Shuttle bay door. One of the geth claws just happened to have used that for an anchor point. That would be their best shot to loosen the ship's grip on the building.

She programmed the door's PSI high enough to make it slam down hard. It sheared off the top claw on the geth ship. The bottom two claws could not support its weight alone and the ship dropped off the side of the building and crashed to the surface far below. The energy fields had come down.

"Normandy to shore party, anybody there? Normandy to shore party…come on Commander, please be there." Worry laced Joker's every word. When she answered him he told her that colonists were banging on the hull. She told him to sit tight, the colonists couldn't do any real damage to the Normandy.

They retraced their steps and bypassed the newly opened passage to head up the other side of the stairwell. She needed to retrieve some data for one of the colonists. Several krogan were in the room she needed to get into. She sighed…she'd already killed more than enough today; she was starting to get mighty sick of it. Oh well…another one bites the dust.

With the three krogan out of the picture she downloaded the data and hightailed it back to the newly opened passage.

Lizbeth was waiting for them on the other side of the newly opened passage. She confronted Lizbeth on her lies. Lizbeth apologized and told them the way to the Thorian was blocked by a freighter the Zhu's Hope colonists put down to cover the entrance to protect it.

Once back at the Exo-Geni group they discussed the infected colonists and how best to manage them so they could get past them. Nerve gas reduced-capacity concussion grenades were made. She took the grenades and headed to Zhu's Hope. Hopefully, a majority of the colonists could be rendered harmless, allowing them to get access to the Thorian.

When they reached the main door a nastified human creature, a husk-like thorian creeper, was waiting for them. When the door opened many more attacked them. You had to take them down before they got to close to you, because their preferred method of attack was barfing green goo in your face. Not a very becoming look. And it didn't feel too great, burned like acid. After they were down they hopped back into the mako and drove it up next to the guards. They climbed out, using the mako for cover; she tossed a sleep grenade at the four humans shooting at them.

The proceeded through the door. She tossed a grenade at the two humans guarding the interior entrance. Heading down the stairs she faced another wave of creepers and more humans. She tossed another sleep grenade, but only 3 went down. Crap...she tossed a second one. Her lootdar went off and she located another stash of grenades…how strangely convenient, considering they were made for her at the Exo-Geni group. Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, it might bite you. She headed up the ramp took out more creepers and lobbed a sleep grenade at the two humans at the end of the ramp.

Heading down the other side of the ramp a crap load of creepers were waiting. No biotics were used, they couldn't risk the colonists. They waited for them to get close and shot them point blank, that way they could avoid stray bullets taking out the colonists. It took 3-4 more grenades to put the rest of the colonists to sleep.

She hacked into the control and programmed it to lift the freighter out of the way. Fai Dan approached them. He fought the Thorian's control, but in the end he just wasn't strong enough. He chose to end his own life rather than shoot them. It had all happened so fast. Even so, she knew she had time to lob a sleep grenade at him…why hadn't she? As far as she was aware her head was still on her shoulders and not shoved up her ass. She sighed. It was such a waste of life. They headed down the stairs into the Thorian's lair.

A massive, tentacled, slimy plant…_thing_ barfed up a green asari. "I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It demands that you be in awe."

Shepard shook her head. She never much cared for demands. As a soldier she had to swallow a crap-load of them, and they stuck in her craw more often than not. "I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. I'm here to broker a deal. Release your thralls or die. Simple enough for you?" Shepard asked.

The green asari attacked. As soon as she was down, creepers poured out of a side room. Had she mentioned how tired she was of killing? She thought she could feel a blister on her damn trigger finger. She fired a singularity and walked past the flying creepers. A huge pulsing tentacle crossed above her head. She pulled out her gun and blasted a hole in the damn thing. The Thorian screamed. Ooh…sweet. I need to find more of those. They headed further up searching for more nerve bundles.

Two more waves of creepers and a green asari later she was able to destroy another nerve bundle. They continued up the stairs. Another two waves of creepers and another green asari later and they located another nerve bundle. This was starting to be like clockwork…but she knew better than to rely on patterns. Patterns, like rules, could be broken too easily.

In a similar pattern they took down two more nerve bundles. Then dropped down to a lower floor and then up a flight of stairs. Prone creepers they had already passed, popped up behind them, flanking them, and came down from the stairs above... catching them in a pincer ambush. Nicely done, Thorian. Still won't save you though.

As they came around a bend, Shepard could see another nerve bundle across the way. She pulled out her sniper and blew it to hell. The creepers didn't even waken from their prone positions. The Thorian grunted, screamed and fell a great distance to the floor below. She sincerely hope it was nothing but a pile of splattered goo now.

An asari fell from a pustule on the wall.

"I'm free…I suppose I should thank you for releasing me." Shiala said. She told them that Seran had traded her for the cipher to the Thorian and then sent geth in to kill the Thorian. She spoke of how Matriarch Benezia sought to help Saren walk a gentler path, but had become indoctrinated to Saren's will through the ship he call Sovereign, who had powerful mind control capabilities. She explained that Prothians and their knowledge became a part of the Thorian when it consumed their bodies over 50,000 years ago.

"I need that knowledge to stop Saren." Shepard told her.

"I can transfer the cipher to your mind as I did Saren's." Shiala informed her.

Shepard nodded. As she was receiving the cipher, her head thumped as more pictures poured into it... death destruction, machine, blood…but it included more than the previous vision. She saw two suns and a couple of planets. A possible location or map of sorts? She shook her head. It was a lot to take in and things still weren't all that clear.

"Shepard, are you all right?" Garrus touched her shoulder in worry. "What just happened?"

She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "The cipher seems to have updated what I saw from the beacon. I'm still not completely sure what it's telling me...it's like a partially completed puzzle. Gave me one hell of a headache though."

Shiala told her it would take time for her mind to process the information, but she would eventually understand the vision from the beacon. She also said she would like to stay here and help the people from Zhu's hope recover.

Shepard nodded her approval and headed back to the colonists.

"Exo-Geni will be giving Zhu's Hope all the money it needs to rebuild. It's all thanks to you Commander!" Juliana, Lizbeth's mother, said. She checked on the other people she had met and then returned to the Normandy. "Hit the showers, debriefing in 20." She told them.

When she walked into the comm room, everyone was already seated, waiting for her.

"Commander, you look pale. Have you suffered any ill effects from the cipher?" Liara asked concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything." She told her.

"I might be able to help. I'm a Prothean expert. If I joined my consciousness to yours we might be able to make sense of it all." Liara said helpfully…or perhaps hopefully.

When the melding came to an end, Liara explained, "The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. The data transferred to the Commander's mind was incomplete. There are large pieces missing from the vision. If Saren has that missing information, then he might have found another beacon." Liara explained. She started feeling weak from the meld and asked to go to the med-bay. Shepard dismissed everyone and made her rounds.

Kaidan told her she was important to him and wanted her to know that he would be there for her if she ever needed any help. He then returned to talking about his past, explaining how turian mercs were brought in to train the young human biotics. The one training his group, Vyrnnus, was a nasty piece of work. The turian broke Rhanna's arm because she used her hand to move something instead of her biotics; When Kaidan stood up, the turian beat him and shoved a knife in his face. Kaidan lost it and the turian ended up dead. He ended up losing Rhanna as a friend and Brain camp was closed down not long after. Just goes to show, that good or ill, one person _can_ make a difference.

Liara was feeling much better and they scheduled a vid for later that evening. Shepard asked her about her life as an archeologist.

"I spent most of my life on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins. Not very exciting to most people." She said.

"It sounds dangerous…and lonely." Shepard admitted.

"Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life-forms or mercenaries, but I was always careful. Until the geth on Artemis Tau, my biotics kept me safe. As for the solitude, it appealed to me. People expected me to be as my mother was, become a leader of our people. Matriarchs look to the future, maybe that's why I preferred the secrets of the past." Liara explained.

"All children rebel against their parents. It's a natural part of growing up." Shepard stated.

Liara chuckled, "You share the wisdom of the Matriarchs, Shepard. That is exactly what Benezia said when I told her I was going to be an archeologist. But, there's more to it…I was drawn to the past…to the Protheans. That is why I find you so fascinating. You were touched by working Prothean technology." She said in wonder.

"Am I a lab rat now?" Shepard asked gently.

"What? No! I never meant to offend you, Shepard. I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No – that's even worse!" Liara said, horrified where her mouth was taking her.

"It's okay, Liara. I was only joking." Shepard assured her.

"Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense? You must think me the fool. This is why I prefer to spend my time with data and dig sites; I tend to embarrass myself around other people." She said apologetically.

She went down to the cargo bay to visit with the rest of her crew. Garrus told her that he has learned a lot from her both from speaking with her and watching how she operated. He told her he couldn't imagine a better teacher…or a better friend.

Oh stars…the friend zone. Maybe she should tell him how she felt? "Garrus, you are more than just a friend to me…" Oh dear…no...she can't do this. He had become too precious to her and she wasn't about to risk what they had. "You are my dearest…my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you." She told him and turned to go see Wrex. At least she was able to weave some of what she felt into that.

Damn it, Garrus thought. He had hoped she was going to tell him she wanted to be more than friends…maybe even that she loved him…not relegate him to the friend zone. That's ok. He tried to reassure himself. Maybe that's what she needs right now. He knew how much pressure she was under. If that's what she needed from him, then he would do his best to give it to her.

She asked Wrex to tell her an adventure story. So, he told her about an asari commando he met when they both held the same contract. They split the kill, each taking part of the man, each getting paid for his death. Unfortunately, he discovered one contract he accepted was for the asari's death. When he caught up with her, they shared a laugh over it and then he asked her where she wanted the fight to occur. She chose a merc hangout and they battled for two days. She was injured and he was about to go in for the kill when the space station's core went critical. He barely made it out. He watched it blow from a distance and never saw her leave. When he later received notice she was alive, he notified the diplomat that set the contract and ended up being his personal bodyguard until the day he died. Boring, but easy credits. She laughed at his caginess and moved on to have a word with Ashley.

As she was talking to Ashley she was able to learn more about her. Her grandfather was General Williams, the Shanxi garrison's leader, the only human to surrender to the turians during the First Contact war. That was why her father couldn't advance up the chain of command and that was why she had a long list of crap assignments. Shepard told her that she respected the man. He saved a lot of lives, both military and civilian by surrendering. She also tried to reassure her that she was a valuable member of her team.

Tali thanked her for treating her like a part of the crew, an equal, rather than a second-class citizen. Not many treat quarians that fairly. She appreciated Shepard's thoughtfulness. Shepard assured Tali that she was a highly respected member of her team and that she would miss her when she returned back to the flotilla.

As the days went by they were sent on more grunt missions for the alliance. At least the Alliance was asking rather than demanding her help. That was a nice change. She deactivated a bomb, killed a negotiation with a merc, retrieved data from a lost probe, killed a diplomat's blackmailing, criminal sister and various other assignments. But, they were simple missions, left her with a lot of down time in between. Mass relay travel and FTL speed were nice, but not instantaneous, at least not in most cases.

Garrus also came to realize his _beating her system_ trick didn't always beat the system. Perhaps because his need to protect her and claim her was getting stronger. Or perhaps he wasn't the only one who figured out the system.

They were on their way back to the Citadel for gas and supplies, and then off to Noveria. When she stepped up to the galaxy map to set in coordinates for the Citadel, Joker informed her she had a top priority message coming in. She headed to the comm room to take the private call.

The Council informed her they had a special task force that sent a message on a critical alert channel, but the message was garbled. It haled from the planet Virmire and pertained to Saren. The assured her they didn't want to know the details of what she intended to do, they just wanted to inform her of the Virmire option. She thanked them and headed back to the map. She would be sure to hit Virmire as soon as they left Noveria. After this she was damn well going to take a vacation. At least she sure as hell hoped she could. She and her crew needed a break. A couple of weeks of shore leave would do everyone a lot of good.

Noveria

"Commander, we are approaching Noveria. ETA 27 minutes." Joker informed her.

"Thank you Joker, have the crew assemble in the cargo bay in 15. Out of curiosity, do you ever sleep?" She replied.

"Absolutely, Commander. I just had the back-up alert me when we were an hour out. Don't you worry, Commander. I get my required sleep. I wouldn't fly too tired…I wouldn't risk the Normandy." Joker assured her.

"Thanks Jeff, I feel the love." She said sarcastically.

"You know she's my baby, Shepard." Joker pointed out.

"Of that there is no doubt." She replied.

She rolled over in her bed and slammed her head on something hard. Damn! What the hell. "Lights on," she said rubbing her forehead. The lights slowly got brighter, when she could see she discovered she was nose to nose with Garrus. Garrus groaned and covered eyes. "What's the matter? Hung over, Garrus?" She asked in a chipper voice.

"Leave me alone." He grumbled.

"No can do. ETA 25 minutes out of Noveria." She told him.

His eyes popped open. "What?" He said sitting up. He grabbed his head and fell back into the bed. Ohh…never again would he drink that much. He glared resentfully at Shepard's enthusiasm. "I thought we were hitting it tomorrow." He groused.

"Change of plans. We arrived earlier than expected." She told him.

He rubbed a hand over his face. "What time is it?" He asked.

"8:30am, sleepy head." She said full of cheer.

He jerked to a sitting position again. He grabbed his head, cried out, but stayed sitting up. Oh crap! He'd never make it out of Shepard's room without being seen now. Kaidan practically camped right outside her door.

Shepard walked over to her closet, pulled out a suit and handed it to him.

"I wondered where that went!" He said in wonder.

"I swiped it out of laundry before they had the chance to put it in your closet. Figured there could be a day like this." She admitted. Of course, she'd hoped it would have been after a long night of loving instead of a hard night of drinking.

"Spirits! You think of everything!" He said gratefully. "I'll make sure to get another one over here just in case we mess up again." He stumbled off to the bathroom to get showered and changed.

She heard the water running and wished like mad she could join him. She heard the speed dry flip on and grabbed a clean bodysuit. He was out in 5 minutes flat bless him. He walked over to her, put his forehead against hers. "Thank you, Shepard." He said simply and headed for the door. When the door opened, he turned to her and said loudly, "Thank you again for your help this morning, Commander."

"Anytime, Garrus. I'm just glad I could help you out of that bind." She said with a big smile.

He stood there a moment and just looked at her. Then he cleared his throat, shook his head, and took his leave. He nodded and said good morning to Kaidan on his way to the elevator.

She hopped in the shower, for a quick wash, hit the speed dry and was out the door in another 5. She grabbed three nutrient bars and crammed them in her face on the way down to the cargo bay. When she arrived at the cargo bay she could already hear the vestiges of last night's party. She walked into the middle of the room and said, "Good morning everyone!" Groans greeted her and she laughed.

Kaidan approached her. "A moment, Ma'am...you have something…hold on." He took a thumb and gently grazed the side of her mouth, removing a wayward crumb. He brought the offending crumb to his lips, his tongue flicking out to capture it. "Nutrient bars, eh? Maybe tomorrow we can get a real breakfast…" he said softly.

Garrus took a step forward, fists tight, as anger ripped through him. When he realized what he was about to do, he drew up and closed his eyes. He needed to get control of himself before he did something he would regret. He gritted his teeth when he heard Shepard thank Kaidan and tell him that would be nice. Couldn't she see what Kaidan was doing? No, he sighed…she couldn't. As accomplished as she was in everything she did, when it came to affairs of the heart she was blind.

Shepard didn't even need the sight to know who would be joining her today. But she forced it anyway and she had been correct. Only two people didn't get drunk off their asses last night. "Tali, Kaidan gear up and be ready in 10. Everyone dismissed"

Garrus walked up to her. "Shepard…" He said urgently.

"Garrus, you are in no condition to be going down there with me right now. Don't even try to talk me out of it." She said firmly.

He knew she was right, but it rankled him to no end that she was going down there without him. On a highly critical mission at that. He knew that Kaidan loved her and would do what he could to protect her…but he also knew that no one could protect her the way he could. "I know, Shepard," he said softly. "Just be careful," he said, lowering his forehead to hers for a brief moment.

"I will…and for the record I wish you were coming. There is no one I trust more to cover me than you." She said with a smile. Shepard donned her commander mask and left.

Double whammy, he sighed. Mind in the gutter and a breathtaking smile…he was hard as stone. As soon as the VI told them that XO Pressly had the deck he began to pace. When Wrex started laughing at him he headed to the elevator… he had to search out someone to vent on, his nerves were shot... and Wrex was only a last resort. It seemed like it was getting harder and harder to find anyone about. It was crazy…a ship full of people and he was lucky to find someone. Where the hell did they all go?

In the airlock she checked the auras of her squadmates. "Kaidan, will you accept my good luck kiss?"

Kaidan flushed. "Always...ma'am."

Shepard placed one hand on the back of his neck, the other on his cheek and gently brushed her lips against his. "Thank you for your luck, Kaidan."

When they arrived at Noveria's port entry, guards attempted to confiscate her weapons. Not going to happen. As a Spectre she was legally allowed to bring her weapons anywhere. Before the scene could turn too ugly, the administrator's assistant verified Shepard's Spectre status and thus her right to bear arms.

She went up the stairs to speak to the woman who cleared them. As she approached the counter alarms went off.

"Weapon detector alarms, nothing to worry about." Parasini told her. "I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident at the docking bay."

"Thank you for your support. Has anyone unusual come through here recently?" Shepard asked.

"An asari matriarch, Lady Benezia, and a group of commandos passed through here a few days ago." Parasini told her.

"Where is she now?" Shepard inquired.

"She went up to Peak 15 research complex. As far as I know she's still there." Parasini said.

"Then that is where I need to go." Shepard stated.

"You will have to get approval from Administrator Anoleis to leave this port. His office is on the left of the main floor." Parasini replied.

Mr. Anoleis was a cold, abrupt and rude salarian. He had no liking for Spectres and gave her only the barest courtesy. He basically told her she was shit out of luck. Peak 15 was private and a blizzard had shut down access in any event.

She was getting nowhere fast or slow with him so she left his office. Parasini waved her down and told her to talk to Lorik Qui'in if she wanted a pass to leave the port. Thank you, Parasini. At least someone in this bloody port was pleasant. She headed to the elevator and the hotel bar to find Qui'in.

Shepard liked Qui'in right away. He was one of the nicest and most polite people she'd ever met. He explained how he was the manager of Synthetic Insights and he had found information on Anoleis accepting bribes and other nefarious deeds…now Anoleis claimed Qui'in was corrupt and had his office closed while hired goons ransacked it trying to locate the information Qui'in had found. He told her she was welcome to his garage pass if she could bring him that information. She agreed, took his security pass, and hopped the elevator down to the main floor.

As soon as she entered the Synthetic Insights offices she ran into three of the hired goons. A little muscle flexing and the goons decided they might be better off if they took a walk. As soon as they stepped away several others attacked. When they were taken care of she searched the office downstairs. Nothing. She headed up the stairs. The office far to the back had the information Qui'in wanted.

They headed back around to the stairs and were confronted by another group of Anoleis' thugs. Just how many did he hire? They seem to multiply faster than dust-bunnies…and that's saying something. She threw a stasis bubble at the leader and she and her team proceeded to take down the rest of the thugs. She pulled the stasis bubble energy back into herself and asked the leader if she wanted to surrender.

The leader yelled, "Eat this bitch!"And pulled her shotgun. Shepard sighed and shook her head. Kaidan took her down. Did these idiots all go to the same school? Did no one ever think things through? It always ended the same way…but she kept hoping that someday someone would grow a brain.

Parasini was waiting for her when she stepped off the elevator. She asked her to meet her at the hotel bar before she talked to Qui'in. Then she turned and walked away. Shepard sighed…just another fly in the lotion…according to Qui'in.

She entered the hotel bar and found the fly right away.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself...Gianna Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs." Parasini said.

"Why is internal affairs here?"

"The executives know of Anoleis' corruption. I've been under cover for six months. I would like you to convince Qui'in to testify before the board. With his evidence this planet can run profitably again." Parasisni stated.

Shepard agreed to talk to Qui'in.

"Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I had you look into?" Qui'in inquired politely.

Stars. She was really starting to feel like a heel. She really liked the old turian.

"An internal affairs officer contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis so they can bring him down." Shepard told him.

"Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle." He said in irritation.

Ouch. "Everyone on this station is chafing under Anoleis' extortion. You would be a hero." She pointed out.

"My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here." Qui'in replied.

"The Board is investigating Anoleis. They know he is corrupt. They are concerned about the worm in their own fruit." Tali informed him.

Qui'in sighed. "All right! It is obvious that I cannot dissuade you. Very well. I will testify. Make whatever arrangements you need with your contact. I will wait here."

"I should let you go." She said.

"Let me go? Do humans consider conversing to be some sort of imprisonment? No wonder so few are willing to sit and talk."

Shepard gave him a bright smile to try to take the sting out of what she just did to him. She felt like she had just kicked a puppy. It wasn't a good feeling. Despite knowing that taking down Anoleis was for the best, it left a foul taste in her mouth.

Kaidan and Tali looked at each other when they saw the old turian's face go slack. Smile shock. It will bite you in the butt every time. And the look on the shockee's face was always priceless. It's much more fun when someone else gets nuked with her 40 kiloton smile; they'd learned to stay out of blast radius if at all possible, because fallout tended to be embarrassing. They took the elevator back down to the main floor. As they entered Anoleis' office, Parasini greeted her.

"Spectre. Have you given any more consideration to my offer?" Parasini asked.

"It took some persuasion, but Qui'in has agreed to testify." Shepard told her.

Parasini sighed. "That's a world of stress off my back. I'll take the evidence for safe transport. Hmf…I didn't think you'd help me. Being a Spectre and all. I guess some of you can be all right."

"You don't seem particularly thrilled." Shepard said with a frown.

"I'm ecstatic. But right now, I just feel like a long day of work is ending. While you were working on Qui'in, I got you a garage pass. Be careful up there," Parasini warned. "Now, I have an arrest to make. Wish I had time to change into something easy to move in. I hate skirts."

"This is an outrage! I'll see that you never work in this sector again!" Anoleis yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. Get a move on." Parasini said dragging the hand-cuffed salarian away.

"You! Shepard! I demand that you place this bitch under arrest!" Anoleis ordered.

"You have the right to remain silent. I wish to God you'd exercise it!" Parasini implored him. "See you around the galaxy, Commander. I owe you a beer."

Shepard watched them leave and then followed them out. She ran back up to the hotel to check on Qui'in again. Why? Because she wanted to. She really liked him and felt awful for pushing him to do something he didn't want to do.

"Ms. Parasini contacted me as she lifted off-world. The Board is placing me in protective custody. I expect I'll be testifying in the next few days." Qui'in said resolutely.

"I really wish you all the best, Qui'in. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I put you in the situation you are in. It is for the best, but it doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it." Shepard admitted.

"I know you were only doing your job, Commander. I don't hold that against you. Maybe once Anoleis is put away and this is all behind me, I'll feel like I accomplished something worthwhile. Stay safe out there, Commander." Qui'in said earnestly.

She bid him farewell and went back down to the main floor and over to the garage. She showed her pass to get in. As soon as the doors closed behind them geth opened fire.

"I guess we know what Benezia had in those crates now." Kaidan said.

When the geth were cleared out, the climbed into the mako class tank and headed out into the blizzard. There were a few geth pockets stationed here and there, most of them centered around tunnels, but there were turrets lining the path. They kept their speed steady and relatively slow. With the narrow paths, snow and ice, the terrain could be treacherous.

When they reached Peak 15 they were surprised to see a burning tank. Perhaps someone had recently arrived and had not been as lucky as they were.

They climbed out of the mako, entered the building, up a small flight of stairs on the right and into a large loading bay hangar. Geth, of course, were waiting there to greet them. Nothing like the welcome wagon. Surprise! There were even a few krogan who joined the fray. Shepard started casting singularities towards the left and right ends of the hangar bay and she tossed one up on the walkway above, on the left, to nab a krogan that was taking pot shots at them. With crates, geth and krogan flying all about, it became a crazy carnival shoot fest. Shepard checked her scanner. No more signatures could be found.

"User alert. All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage," said an automated feminine voice. Biohazard materials present through facility. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline."

"We need to get the reactors back online." Tali informed her.

Shepard knew Tali was just trying to be helpful, but it rankled a bit that everyone seemed to think that she couldn't figure things out for herself. She didn't think she looked stupid, but at times she wanted to look into a mirror and double check.

She headed up the stairs on the left to the walkway. She followed it around to a door. At least they were getting somewhere…It was the blind leading the blind right now, since no one had any clue where they had to go.

They entered the door and discovered two turrets facing the wrong way. Guess they didn't want their own people leaving.

"Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?" Tali asked.

"They want to keep their people in more than they want to keep others out apparently." Kaidan responded.

When the door at the end of the hall slid open her lootdar went off and she turned to the left to pillage for supplies. With pockets getting full, she went back to the other door she bypassed earlier. It was an elevator. Must be our ride. It was a slow ride up. When the door opened the hall was covered in snow and ice. Odd, since they were indoors. As they moved through the next door it opened up into a very large room that had geth sprinkled across the snow like multi-colored candy. Stars…her mind traveled to some weird places when she was hungry.

She raised her arm and lifted two up and threw them against a wall. She tossed a singularity to the right and let her team deal with the geth it pulled in. She looked at the disarray of the room. The disarray she caused. If it looks like a tornado hit, Shepard must have passed through. Destruction…thy name is Shepard. Ah…if you can't poke fun at yourself…don't let anyone else…

A loud chittering screech broke into her musings. What the hell was that?

"Animals? Wind? This place is in bad shape." Tali mentioned.

A swarm of cat sized roaches charged them. Thankfully, they were easy to kill...if you could catch them, that is. But, they weren't shy. They raced straight for you and explode on their own when they get close enough. Shepard looked around, and then she looked up when she heard a noise. She saw a large, butt ugly tentacled bug thing on the upper walkway. She lobbed a singularity over the glass half-wall and the thing rose up into the air. A second joined it. She hadn't even known there were two up there. Once dancing in the air, they were easy to shoot. Didn't have to get anywhere near them, thank the stars. She didn't like bugs on principle…big ones were even worse.

She headed up the stairs towards where the creatures had been. She wanted to make sure there were no more…Plus, they kind of had to go that way anyway. In the second room up there that she could explore, a giant bug thing jumped out of the wall at them as they left the room. She guessed her team wasn't too keen on bugs either, because the nasty thing was no more than a scrap by the time they were done pouring bullets into it.

The hit the door at the end of the walkway and took the elevator up. It opened up to a narrow room…and more little bug things. The bug things were rank. They exploded when they died, spraying green, putrid mist everywhere.

"Look, Shepard. A backup power system. Must be for the station mainframe." Tali told him.

"The damage doesn't look to be extensive. It could be repaired." Kaidan informed them.

Shepard tried to reactivate the backup power system.

"Critical startup error. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline. Manual boot required." The automated voice said.

They proceeded to the end of the hall and made their way around the mainframe core. It opened in the back and she stepped onto the platform. She nearly freaked when it started lowering her down. But she bit her cheek and kept her cool, she did not want the commander mask to crack while she screamed like a girl. Not so good for her image when that happens.

She completed the task needed to manually reboot the core and the platform returned her to the surface. A feminine form VI shimmered into view.

"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" The VI asked.

"Yes, help would be nice. You are the VI that runs this place?" Shepard asked.

"This system is monitored to respond to the name _Mira_. May I ask your name?" Mira inquired.

"Commander Shepard. I work for the Citadel's Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

"One moment, please. Council authority confirmed. You are entitled to Secure Access of all systems. Please note that queries relating to corporate secrets require Privileged Access, which is only available to Binary Helix executives." Mira informed her.

"I need to find Matriarch Benezia." Shepard said.

"Lady Benezia departed on the passenger tramway to the Rift Station subsidiary labs. User alert! The tramway system is currently inoperable." The VI then told them the main reactor helium-3 fuel lines valves need opened and tramway landlines router needed to be activated manually for them to get to Rift Station. She also mentioned the heat had been turned off to damage or kill biological contaminants.

And it was an icebox in here. She had frozen ice cubes for nipples. She was worried they would crack and fall off.

"That's all I need for now."

"Very well, Commander. Logging you out." Mira stated.

Shepard exited the core and ascended the stairway to the roof behind her. The entered another elevator and made their way to the roof. As they walked out on the roof they were ambushed by a horde of bugs, both big and small. She flung 2 singularities into the middle of the horde and the turkey shoot began. Every last one of them was pulled into the energy well. Every last one dead before they landed. Fighting might be a bit boring this way, but it was incredibly efficient.

They took the elevator back down, circled around the core and another damned big bug jumped up out of the floor at them. How the hell do they do that? She lifted her arm and tossed it into the air for her team to take down. She continued on towards the main reactor. She entered the door on the left and followed the corridor to an elevator that went down to the reactor. When they stepped off the elevator, she walked around the corner and her radar jammed. That always meant geth nearby. She triggered the door on the right. First a hopper crawled through the door, then a juggernaut. She swung around when Kaidan grunted. Another juggernaut was pushing into him. Someone must have backed up too far and triggered the other door. She turned and stood back to back with her team. She was facing one door, they were facing the other. When the geth stopped barreling through, she noticed her radar was still jammed. She stepped out of the door on the right and proceeded slowly down the catwalk, looking everywhere carefully. She heard a warble behind her. She spun around and a geth destroyer was on an upper catwalk. She lifted her arm and pulled it towards her. The geth came flying down from the upper balcony. It was scrap before it hit the ground.

Her radar was still jammed. How many were there? She went back through the room and saw long fingers sticking through the bottom of the door. That meant a crouching hopper. When she got close enough, the door opened and she fired straight down into its head. Crap! Still jammed. She headed out the door and followed the cat walk to the right. There was a side ramp going up, so she followed it. At the top of the ramp they found the hopper that was jamming them. As soon as it was down, the radar was clear. She found more goodies in the two rooms at the top of the ramp, but her pockets were full, so handed the goodies off to Tali.

She headed back down the ramp and took the main catwalk around, found the cut fuel lines and repaired them. Done and done. Peak 15 was up and running again….for good or ill.

"The appeal of winter fades very quickly." Tali griped.

"Yeah, I know. I wish we could pop off some incendiaries." Kaidan added.

"You're not kidding…I'm wearing an envirosuit and I'm still freezing!" Tali said.

"True…it's nippy and I think I've got snow in my boots." Kaidan complained.

"Is all that grousing warming you two up?" Shepard asked.

"It gives my mouth something to do besides chatter." Tali told her.

"All-righty then." Shepard said as they hopped the elevator back up to the main floor. As soon as they stepped into the main core hall another huge bug thing jumped out of the floor. Really? She tossed it in the air and walked on through the door leading to the transit hub. As they stepped into the elevator a new message was being played.

"User alert! Loose contaminants in the decontamination chamber. Access to passenger tramways inadvisable." Mira stated.

When the elevator opened, she headed to the first door on the left. It was a room that controlled the decontamination chamber that they would have to walk through. Giant bug things were trapped inside the passage.

"I could bypass the door. It looks like the trams to the subsidiary stations are beyond this passage way." Tali told her.

A grate popped up from the floor and another huge bug-thing sprang from below. She tossed it in the air and turned to look over the control console while her team took care of it. She slapped a big red button that screamed 'hit me'. Flames shot through the decontamination chamber frying the bug things to crumbling ash. Yes! Further on in the room, they caught a garbled message from a salarian scientist who had been so terrified (or perhaps guilty) by what happened that he had killed himself rather than face it.

She walked over to Mira's stand and activated her. "Tell me about Rift Sation." She said.

"Rift Station has been locked down by the staff. There are currently no contaminants within the facility."

"Why is it locked down?"

"Each facility must lock down to prevent spread of contamination. It would also appear that there are several employees quarantined for medical treatment."

"That's all."

"Very well, Shepard. Logging you out."

She entered the decontamination chamber. Her radar showed lifesigns on the other side of the door. She suspected they would not be friendly in nature. Gun in hand they moved slowly towards the door until it sensed them and slid open. The cat-sized roach bugs darted in and self destructed, covering them with reeking toxin before they could take out very many. Tali was fine in her suit. But Shepard was thankful she and Kaidan had toxin mods on their armor or it could have gotten messy.

They followed the corridor until it opened up into a large passenger platform. Finally, the tramway. The boarded and rode it until it stopped at the Binary Helix Rift Station. They disembarked. A quick survey showed that most of the doors from the tramway were locked down. In fact, only one door was open, so they took it and hoped for the best. It led to another set of doors, again only one open to them. It eventually opened up into a room being guarded by a few armed men.

"Stand sown." The leader said.

"Sorry for the armed welcome, we couldn't be sure what was on the tram."

"I don't blame you. I'd have done the same thing. What's happening here?" She asked him.

"Bugs. Zillions of them. Coming up from the hot labs. Look, you're human so I won't shoot, but I'd like to know who you are."

"My name's Shepard. I'm a Spectre." She told him.

"Captain Ventralis. Huh. I won't look a heavily-armed horse in the mouth." Ventralis said.

"The bugs overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out." He said.

"The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since." Ventralis informed her.

"I'm not going to let any more of your people die." She responded.

"There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It can take you to the hot labs. If you need any first aid, Dr. Cohen's downstairs in the med-bay.

'"I've got work to do." She told him.

"Yeah, I hear tha - " he began. Another noise was heard. "Hell! Man the perimeter!"

Two large bug-things popped up through grates on the floor. There are just too many damned floor grates around here. She tossed out a singularity, trapped them both and took them down hard in a haze of bullets.

"Thanks for the help. Every few hours another wave comes up the tram tunnel." He said.

"I'll do whatever I can to help." She assured him.

She entered the door behind Ventralis and followed the path around until it eventually opened up into a large main room. She'd remembered Mira telling her about some sick people being quarantined, so the first thing she did was head to the med-bay to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"What? What do you want?" Dr. Cohen asked.

"I didn't meant to bother you. I just wanted to find out if there was anything I could do to help those that are sick." She told him.

"They were infected with a toxin. Mira, the Peak 15 VI handles the safety protocols for our experiments. When she went down quarantine failed and these three were infected with Thorin-B. It's a bio-weapon. We've engineered it so that it kills individual species, but won't spread like a pandemic. We just wanted to limit the danger. I don't expect you to understand. Our notes and equipment to make the cure are locked in the quarantine labs, but Ventralis won't let us in there." Cohen said.

She was disgusted at the thought of biological warfare, but she didn't want to see men die. "I will see what I can do." She told him and left to head back to Ventralis.

"Something you need?" Ventralis asked her.

"I want to go to the labs and get the toxin cure."

He sighed. "You're not under my command. You want to risk your lives, fine. I'll have the guard let you in, but the guard will lock the door behind you. If you don't pass a full body scan, you stay in there." He warned.

"Those sound like reasonable precautions." She agreed.

"Good luck in there," he said, shaking her hand.

They returned to the main room and entered the passageway to the quarantine labs. Near the labs she ran into Olar, the volus that survived the hot lab incident. Olar explained that a rachni egg had been found in a derelict ship and they hatched it, bringing the rachni back from the dead.

The guard let her in the quarantine lab. "If you got a death wish you should stand watch on the barricade." He'd told her as she slipped through the door.

She read the notes and mixed the concoction for the cure. She turned around and -

"Your mission ends here, Shepard." The asari says.

"What happened to the guard?" Shepard demanded.

"I didn't have permission to come in. He got in my way. I was ordered to eliminate you, should the opportunity arise. And here you are, trapped in this lab."

"You have one chance to walk out of here. Surrender or you will never leave this lab." Shepard warned her.

The asari laughed. "Weapons free!"

Shepard flung out a singularity. Asari, geth, and crates crashed together. She threw up a barrier bubble around her and her team and waited it out. When the bodies hit the floor, she absorbed the barrier energy and kicked the asari in the head on the way out the door. Oops.

"Damn, Shepard...and you brought us, why?" Kaidan asked.

"She doesn't play around, does she?" Tali reponded.

"Not one bit." He agreed.

"Right here guys. I'll try to remember to give you two some equal play time."

When they stepped out of the lab, Olar stopped them. "They came out of the there," he said pointing.

"The geth?" Shepard asked.

"Benezia brought them with her." Olar explained.

"How do I get into the maintenance area?" She asked him,

"A team lead would have access. Like Dr. Cohen, he's in the med-bay." Olar replied.

They returned to the med-bay with the cure.

"Is that the cure?" He asked her.

"Yea, it was a little hard to mix dodging gunfire."

"You were attacked? I can't even stand conflict. I've never even fired anyone. I let the receptionist do it. Look, the soldiers have been on edge since you arrived. I think they've been expecting you. There are more labs in the back. Secret stuff goes on back there. They won't even let me in…only people with _clearance_.

"Do you have access to the maintenance area?"

"Yes, of course. Here, take my pass. There's nothing but snow back there." He took the phial from her. "I just can't thank you enough, you saved their lives." Dr. Cohen said enthusiastically.

"That's what I do. I'm just glad they'll be okay." She said and headed out the door. They made another trip back down to the quarantine labs, because the maintenance exit had been located in the same area. She passed Olar with a wave and headed out the maintenance door. Brrr…back into the snow. They were literally inside a tunnel of snow. At the end of the icy trail was another large rachni. She raised her arm, tossed it in the air and entered the door as her team ghosted the rachni.

The pathway eventually led to two doors, one to the secret labs and one to the secure labs. She might hit the secret labs later for grins and giggles, but right now it's time to face Benezia. A part of her wished Liara was here, that maybe she could talk her mom down. But from everything that she'd heard about indoctrination that would be highly unlikely. If her mom had to die, she didn't want Liara to see that.

As soon as she entered the lab, she spotted a figure that could only be Benezia. Her very recognizable voice confirmed her suspicions.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is a power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair…Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt Saren's enemies...Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have," Benezia said as she flung out multiple stasis fields, encapsulating each member of Shepard's team.

Shepard could only watch as armed asari commandos drew bead. As soon as she was released a singularity shot from her hand. It sucked in two of the commandos, but Benezia had gotten out of reach. When the commandos went down Benezia froze them again while geth and a few more commandos poured in through a door in the back. She and her team circled the catwalks, taking out geth and working their way to Benezia.

Shepard took a bead on Benezia and once again felt herself unable to move as more geth filed into the room. Damn, that bitch is strong. She focused her energy and pushed outward. The stasis field broadened. She gave another powerful push outward and the stasis field tore…she stepped out of it.

"That's not possible," Benezia said. "How did you do that?"

"I've got a determination issue…just ask anyone." Shepard told her.

"This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear. No. I will not betray him. You cannot…" Benezia's features contorted and then relaxed. "You must listen. Saren still controls my mind. I can fight his compulsions…briefly. But the indoctrination is strong."

"We talked with Shiala on Feros, she told us of the indoctrination."

"It was a terror being prisoner in your own mind. Waking up to see your hands covered in blood and death."

"Why were you able to break free of his control now?" Shepard asked.

"I sealed a part of my mind away from the indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him. It will not last long." Benezia told him.

"So you would turn on me again?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, but it would not be my will, Shepard. People are not themselves around Saren. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. It was subtle, I thought I would be strong enough to resist. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay." Benezia explained.

"How does something that big go missing?" Shepard asked.

"Four thousand years ago, a star nearby went supernova. The shockwave propelled the relay out of its system, but didn't damage it." Benezia told her.

"Did someone on Noveria find it?" She asked

"Two thousand years ago, the rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the relay. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind. I was not gentle." Benezia explained.

"You can make this right. Give me the information that you gave Saren." Shepard told her.

"I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please. You must hurry I sent him the coordinates before you arrived…You have to stop me…I can't…You should - ," Benezia swung back around to face them, "DIE!"

Benezia and several commandos picked up the fight again. Shepard threw a stasis field at Benezia and was surprised it caught her; she must have really depleted herself. She tossed a singularity in the direction of a couple of commandos while she focused on bringing Benezia down, as she was the most dangerous.

When Benezia finally went down, she looked too weak to do any more real damage, so she joined her team to bring down the rest of the commandos. When nothing else begged for her attention, she returned to Benezia, hoping the woman would surrender now. Benezia, though greatly weakened, had made it back to her feet.

"I cannot go on. You must stop him, Shepard." Benezia said weakly.

"We've got medi-gel, maybe we can - " Shepard began.

"No," Benezia interrupted. "I cannot be healed, not when Saren is still in my mind, controlling me. I am not entirely myself and I never will be again… I could never be trusted. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I need it to end."

"Your daughter is with me on the Normandy. I Know she will be proud of your strength...that you were able to help us."

"My little wing. I am so proud of her. Give her..." she gasped, "...my love." Benezia said as she sank weakly to the ground. "No light? They always said there would be – ahhh." A last breath escaped from her lips before her eyes saw no more.

Damn it! Shepard had really hoped they could have brought her in, for Liara's sake. This was not how she'd wanted things to end. Perhaps she should have forced the medi-gel on her. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Benezia was tired of the fight, she sought release. "Sleep well, Benezia. May you be in the arms of your Goddess." Shepard said quietly.

Shepard turned and made her way over to the massive rachni queen in the holding tank. The queen pushed herself up against the side of the tank and Shepard jumped back in surprise, knocking into someone. "Sor-" Stars…it was one of the dead asari. What the hell was going on? Shepard amped her power, ready for anything. Her team had their guns trained on the asari.

The asari shambled her way over to the tank and then turned to face Shepard. "This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless." The asari said.

"Musics? Our language?" Shepard asked confused.

"Your way of communication is strange. Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are rachni." The asari stated.

"How are you speaking through the asari?" Shepard asked."

"Our kind sing through the touching of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is weak to urging. She has colors we have no names for. But she is ending. Her music is bittersweet. It is beautiful. The children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing. They are lost to silence. End their suffering. They cannot be saved. They will only cause harm as they are." The queen explained.

"Why are your children killing people?" Shepard asked.

"These needle-men. They stole our eggs from us. They sought to turn our children into beasts of war. Claws with no songs of their own. Our elders are comfortable with silence. Children know only fear if no one sings to them. Fear has shattered their minds," the queen said. "Before you deal with our children, we stand before you. What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?" She asked calmly.

"There is acid in those tanks strong enough to kill anything. They wouldn't have installed that if they weren't afraid of the consequences of her getting loose." Tali pointed out.

"Commander, there are a lot of grudges in the galaxy. She has done nothing to us. If you kill her you kill an entire species." Kaidan retorted.

"Your companions speak the truth. You have the power to free us or return our people to the silence of memory."

"If I let you go, will you hurt others?" Sheppard asked.

"No. We –I do not know what happened during the war. We heard only discordance. Music the color of oily shadows. We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps we will return." The queen replied.

"Are you a survivor from the war?" Shepard asked.

"We were only an egg. We heard our mother's screams. Others came. The musics changed. Singers were forced to sing to its sour yellow note. We awoke here, the last survivor of the singing planet. The skies are silent." The queen lamented.

Shepard looked down for a moment gathering her thoughts. What right did she have to commit xenocide? Kill an entire species out of fear over just a possibility. What if she was unleashing an old threat back into the galaxy? Would they ravage the galaxy once more? Was it as she said – that someone controlled them, took away their free will, during the war? Would she honor their agreement and slip into obscurity? The ramifications of this decision could be exponential.

Shepard sighed and looked at the queen. "I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free."

"You will give us the chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children." The queen assured Shepard.

Shepard walked over to the control console and released the queen from her prison. The tank rose up to the loading platform and the asari dropped back to the floor, her body no longer a vessel. The queen turned, gave Shepard a last look, chattered an acknowledgement and scurried away.

Shepard looked around. The only exit open to them was back to the tram. So they followed the corridor back up to the main tram platform. This worked out perfectly, because she still needed to make it to the hot labs. Once at the elevator door, she used Ventralis' key card to gain entrance. The lab was empty but for a lone man sitting upon a chair.

"Are you here to secure the situation?" He asked.

"That's right, I'm a Council Spectre. Who're you?" She responded.

"I'm Yaroslav Tartakovsky, the operations director. I would stand and shake hand, but…Ehh.." His voice faded a bit with discomfort and pain. "You must listen to me. If we do not contain our mistake, they will drop bombs from the battle-stations. You understand?" He asked in desperation.

"You let these things out?" Shepard asked in irritation.

"Ehh. I am only following the orders. Binary Helix found an egg. It was on a derelict ship, thousands of years drifting. This was rachni ship. Inside they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension. That this egg survived is miraculous. Binary helix planned to clone rachni. Mass-produce them. Create an army. But when they get here, they find this egg is a queen. After she lays eggs, they move her to Rift Station. They are thinking that without her, they can raise the babies to be obedient." He explained.

"Wait a minute. Don't you need a male to get eggs?" She asked.

"Queens are born carrying the genetic code of their fathers. Queens can lay eggs in hours, and have a colony in days. This is how they spread so quickly." He said.

"Separating them from their mother was a bad choice." Shepard said, remembering what the queen had told her.

"Right. This was the exactly wrong thing to do. I'm thinking without the queen, rachni do not develop properly. Her mind is shaping theirs. These rachni are uncontrollable." He responded.

"You're right. Something needs to be done quickly." She said with a bit of impatience.

"I am thinking that the neutron purge must be set off." He told her.

"I'm not familiar with the purge system." She admitted.

"It creates burst of neutron radiation. Kills everything within the station. Things beyond get genetic damage of varying degree. It is very powerful. Mother always said I would meet a bad end." He said sadly.

"How do we set off the purge?" Shepard asked.

"Arming controls are nearby. All you do is insert the key. Then I will give Mira destruct co - , Uh!"

A rachni pincer pierced through his heart, lifting him into the air and flung his dead body to the side. Shepard raised her arm and flung the rachni soldier into the air. She stepped around it and removed the command code from Tartakovsky's body. She headed for the rear door; her team followed her after they took down the rachni. She activated a Mira pedestal.

"I have full access to the facility, and am at your disposal." Mira said.

"Are there any survivors in here?" Shepard asked.

"There are no living crew members alive within the lab structure."

"Good. Initiate the neutron purge." Shepard told her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that without proper code authorization." Mira told him.

"Code input: 875-020-079. Code Omega local execution." Shepard replied.

"Code Omega execution in 120 seconds." Mira stated.

"We don't know what we face out there. Keep your guns ready, but focus on running your asses off. We need to get to the tram. Move out." Shepard commanded.

When the door slid open a horde of rachni solders rushed them. She drew a barrier bubble around them and then concentrated on singularities and tossing them out of the way as they made their way towards the far door. She had to renew the barrier bubble several times because the sheer number of them continued to destroy her bubbles. They were tenacious bastards and far too many for her and Kaidan to deal with biotically, so they did what they could and relied on swift feet and fast dodging to get to the door.

Once past the door, they beat feet to the tram car. All other exits were locked to them, so they took the tram back to Peak 15. They made their way back out to the mako, climbed aboard and drove back to the main port. She had to admit the drive back was a lot more relaxing. She, kaidan, and Tali talked about everything they had seen and how best to break the news to Liara concerning her mother. They all agreed that Shepard would be the bearer of bad news. The joys of command.

When they arrived at the port, they climbed out of the mako and made their way back to the hotel bar. Shepard bought them each a round. The mission had been grueling, they deserved it. In actuality she wanted to come back here to check on Qui'in. She wanted to say goodbye to him once more before leaving, but he was no longer here. He must have been put into protective custody already. She wished him the best.

They walked out of the port and back to the Normandy. She told them to hit the showers and get a bite to eat, debriefing in the comm room in 30.

Garrus stood in front of the door leading to the lower level. He peered across the room and watched as Shepard came in through the airlock. It was taking everything in his power not to rush to her side. His eyes drank in the sight of her. She appeared unharmed, though looked thoroughly exhausted. Her armor was covered in green ichor. He darted through the door and ran down the steps when he noticed she was heading his way. His heart was racing, but at least his mind was now at peace. She was ok.

He headed to the mess and picked up a large tray of food. It was piled with both human and turian edibles. He finally joined her as she was heading to her room in her body suit. He was glad she'd stopped off at the armory to detail her armor, because he was pretty sure it smelled as bad as it looked.

"Oh, bless you...food…come on in." She said as she walked into her cabin. She grabbed a piece of fruit from the human side of the tray and popped it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored it. Using biotics drained her reserves so much she constantly needed to eat to refuel herself.

She walked over to her closet, pulled off her body suit and slipped on a navel ring. It was a rose gold tear drop. She grabbed a fresh set of clothes and a towel. Due to company she left her underwear and bra on and headed for the shower. "I'll be just a minute. Please wait." She said as she disappeared behind the door.

Garrus' mouth dropped open, but his heart slid to the floor. He'd never seen so much of Shepard's creamy white, soft skin before. It was truly intriguing. And utterly appealing. His hands wanted to touch her so bad that he was forced to shove them under his thighs to make sure they behaved. The sad part was it was very obvious just how much in the friend zone he actually was. He had to admit it hurt.

Garrus heard the water turn off and the speed dry go on. He grabbed a piece of food and pretended nonchalance when she walked out clean and fully clothed.

Shepard had to admit she was a little put out that he hadn't even noticed she was running around nearly naked. What did she have to do to get his attention? Was she so far in the friend zone that he couldn't even see her? That was certainly a painful ego kill. She plopped down on the sofa next to him, curled into his side and began making short work of the repast he brought her.

Garrus dropped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. He loved their peaceful moments together like this. He didn't just love them, he lived for them. It was a bit of a shock to discover just how dependant he had become on her. How much his life revolved around her. So much so that he could not picture his life without her in it.

Shepard was just finishing off the human food when her door chimed. She got up, stretched, and headed for the door. Kaidan was standing there holding a tray heaping with food. "More food! Wonderful. Come on in. I'm still hungry." She said with a smile.

Kaidan stood a moment and gaped. Damn smile left him standing around like a scatter brained moron. He shook his head to clear it and walked into the room. He noticed Garrus lounging on the sofa and an empty tray on the table. He put his tray on top of the empty one. The doorbell chimed again. While Garrus and Kaidan glared at each other Shepard went to see who was there. Liara stood with a tray piled full of food.

"I thought we'd have a bite to eat before heading for the debrief." Liara said.

Shepard stood back and bid her to enter. Liara looked from Kaidan to Garrus and gave a nervous laugh. She placed her tray next to the other one and they all sat around the food eating and talking. Shepard broke the news to Liara about her mother. If the news hurt Liara at all, she didn't show it, though there was a visible start when she'd heard the term 'little wing'. She took her mother's death in stride. Other than the news about Benezia, she didn't talk any more about the mission, since she was going to have to go over all at debrief anyway.

When it was time for debrief, they each grabbed the tray they brought and took it back to the mess before heading on to the comm room.

Shepard went over what occurred down on Noveria. Tali and Kaidan filled in what they could, so that everyone was up to speed on what happened and what they needed to do next.

"What's our next move, Commander? Head to the Mu Relay?" Ashley asked.

"The Mu Relay could link dozens of systems. Unless we know exactly where Saren's going, we'd just be wasting our time." Shepard responded.

"Shepard is right. We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren." Liara seconded.

"Who put you in charge? Did the commander resign when I wasn't looking?" Ashley asked snidely.

"We're all on the same team here, Williams. She's just trying to help." Shepard said calmly.

"Sorry, Commander." Ashley replied.

"This is a tough mission. We're all on edge. Everyone go get some rest." Shepard said standing up. "Crew…dismissed!"

As they filed out the door, Joker said, "Noveria report is away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the council?"

"Not this time, Joker. Don't really care to face the music concerning the rachni queen."

"I hear that, Commander."

It was time to make her rounds. She took the stairs down and decided to check in on Kaidan first.

"I didn't think the debrief was the right place for me to tell you how ridiculous this all is. Seems like every other race in the galaxy is so wrapped up in their own problems they can't see what's coming." Kaiden said in frustration.

"Wanting to believe everything is fine? Sounds like human nature to me." Shepard said.

"Yeah, I guess some things carry across to other species. Vyrnnus had been horrible. But he made me see how human aliens are. They're not different or special. They're jerks and saints, just like us."

"That they are. The turian Councilor comes to mind…and a saint he's not." Shepard said with a laugh.

"I'm glad I'm not the one that has to deal with that ass." He said with a chuckle. "I'm not sure how you manage it. I –it means a lot to me that you have been there for me. That you're willing to listen. Not just talk to me, but really listen. I've never met anyone like you before. You're an unforgettable woman, Shepard." Kaidan said clearing his throat. "It will be good when this Saren business is behind us, so that we can make future plans. I'm …uh…looking forward to some shore leave." Kaidan told her.

"Ooh…You have a woman you're looking to woo, Kaidan?" Shepard asked with a cocked brow and a smile.

Kaidan cleared his throat and blushed. "You could say that…ma'am." Kaidan said softly.

Shepard gave him a wink and turned towards the med-bay. She needed to speak to Liara. Shepard walked into the back room of the med-bay slowly. She didn't want to disturb Liara if she was busy. Liara looked over and stood up from her desk.

"If you are here to talk about Benezia's death, you needn't bother. She brought it upon herself." Liara said rationally.

"Don't pretend it doesn't bother you. She was your mother." Shepard replied.

"She was…but she was not. I prefer to remember Benezia as she used to be, before she was corrupted by Sovereign's power." Liara said solemnly.

"The best part of your mother lives on in you: her determination, her intelligence, her strength." Shepard assured her.

"That is kind of you to say. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine." Liara insisted. "Benezia chose her path, just as I have chosen mine. I am with you until the end, Shepard."

She told Liara how much she appreciated her and that she would see her tonight for the vid. Shepard strode out of the med-bay and made her way back up to the bridge. Call her a coward, but she was pretty sure she'd get an earful from Wrex and Ashley about letting the rachni queen go, so she decided to hold off talking with them until tempers had a chance to cool. No sense stepping in a pile when you can walk around it. Joker heard her approach.

"Boy, I am glad to be off Noveria. I don't know which was worse: the cold or the corporations. One will freeze your balls off, the other sill sell 'em out from under you. With all due respect, Commander." Joker said with a shiver.

"Well, at least that explains what happened to my balls." Shepard said drolly.

"Good one, Commander!" Joker laughed.

Virmire

Over the next three weeks, Shepard was contacted more and more by Admiral Hackett of Fifth Fleet, who needed her help with several more missions. She helped a diplomatic hostage, cleaned out a base that had been taken over by biotics, helped two ex marines suffering from PTSD, took out some Exo-Geni scientists who refused to come in, found and dealt with a survey team that had been turned into husks, took out crap-load of rachni that had overrun a couple of Alliance posts, and a few other mundane missions that apparently only she could handle.

It's hard to get a serious gripe going when the in-between down time is so damned nice. Her teammates were beginning to feel like family. With things starting to come to a head, she wondered how many would choose to stay on with her once Saren was brought down. Tali needed to get back to her flotilla, but the rest – would they stay on? As far as she could tell no one else had anything to really go back to. She didn't want to see any of them leave. She had grown too attached to them, even more so to Garrus.

They had finished their last mission a few days ago and have been waiting in the Hoc system for confirmation. The wait was now over. They just received word, on a private channel, from a Citadel infiltrator on the surface of Virmire – there has been a visual on Saren. They were heading in.

She met her team for the lineup down in the cargo bay. Her brain would have chosen Garrus and Tali for this mission; they were the best team to handle geth. But her sight chose Garrus and Ashley. Ashley? That's certainly nowhere she would have gone. Well, she knew not to argue with the sight. "Garrus, Ashley gear up be ready in 10. Dismissed."

As they approached the planet's surface Kaidan said, "Check out those defense towers!"

"Drop the mako. We'll go in hot and take them out." Shepard instructed.

"I'll get you in underneath their radar, Commander." Joker replied.

Shepard turned to her team. Garrus' aura was brighter. She asked him if he would allow her a good luck kiss and he agreed. When their mouths touched, her lips clung to his a moment longer than necessary. As they took a step away from each other, neither was too steady. Shepard was starting to worry. It was getting harder to walk away after one of those kisses.

Ashley grunted in disgust. She didn't know how her commander could stomach kissing all those aliens. It was awkward enough when Shepard asked to kiss her for good luck. But for the sake of the mission Ashley accepted those kisses stoically.

Shepard followed her team into the mako. Ashley took guns and Garrus took nav and scanners. It felt good to have him next to her again. While Garrus might have preferred to be on guns, he could read nav and scanners a hell of a lot better than Ashley.

The Normandy's cargo door slowly opened and they rolled down its incline and out into the bright sunlight. She fired the thrusters and they landed with only a slight jar.

"We got a clean drop, Commander." Joker said.

"Stay out of range and continue evasive maneuvers until I bring those AA towers down." Shepard ordered.

"I know the drill. Meet you at camp once those towers are off-line. Joker out."

As they moved down the shallow river she noted that steering was a bit more awkward, probably due to the traction and pull of the waterway. Garrus notified them of synthetic signatures on the radar. They could now make a visual on some sort of walking robotic crab-things patrolling the water. Ashley fired on one and it exploded. Shepard told her to hold up. They weren't firing on us, so they may not actually be hostile. She wanted to save their ammo, unsure how much it would take to get through this mission. She hoped that was the right call. It would be a trifle embarrassing and dangerous if those things activated later and flanked them.

Shepard was in awe…this was the most beautiful planet she had ever been to. If she could retire anywhere, this would be the place. It was a tropical paradise.

As they rounded another bend, two drones fired at them. Shepard sighed, it was too long between rockets and guns were a bitch against something so agile. If she had her way, they'd ditch the mako and do this on foot. Um, yeah…she did have her way. "Everyone out. We're doing this on foot." She ordered.

They looked at her like she was nuts. She shrugged. "I need the exercise." She said. Then they looked at her like she was crazy, everyone knew how intensely the commander worked out. "Okay, those drones are far too agile for the mako's large guns. So buck up and enjoy the scenery."

So, they headed out on foot. As they proceeded they took out the drones from a safe distance. She lifted any geth they came across and let her team take them down. It was a nice, working system. They arrived at a gatehouse. They took out two geth below. One had been next to the stairs leading up to the gatehouse bridge, the other had been in the water in one of the open gateways. They took down another geth on the gatehouse bridge above them. She ascended the stairs and worked herself to the other side of the bridge, taking out any geth that popped up along the way. She made her way back down the stairs and continued further down the shallow river bed.

Around the first bend they discovered their first armature. Armatures were a wee bit more of a hassle. She lobbed warp bombs and grenades at them. They fell too; it just took more…finesse. Though, brute force was a good option too.

They were approaching their first gatehouse with one of the giant AA guns. It was much heavier fortified than the other gatehouse had been.

"There's our target, Shepard." Garrus said.

They took out several geth on the ground and veered up the stairs on the right.

"There must be some way to shut that gun down." Ashley stated.

You think? Shepard rolled her eyes and continued making short work of the geth that sought to stop her from making it to the other side of the bridge, where the controls were obviously located. They took down the geth guarding the control room, slipped through the doorway and shut down the gun. She turned and located a control that opened the gate doors. She could hear the grinding as the doors opened.

"I'm reading that the grid is down, Commander. On approach to the salarian base now. Out." Joker stated.

"When you set down, send a team out to fetch the mako. We hoofed it."

"You did what?" Joker's voice cracked. "I mean... Roger that, Commander."

Shepard chuckled.

They went back across the bridge and descended the stairs. They continued onward. When they rounded a bend they saw a second gatehouse. Three geth were waiting outside and one at the top of the gatehouse made itself known. When those were dealt with she went up the stairs on the right. Four more geth were waiting at the top. She tossed out a singularity and moved on, trusting her team to do clean up. Going through the second half of the bridge brought her face to face with two more geth. She flung her arm out, raised them and dashed them against the wall. She put a bullet in each out of spite. Then she used the console to open the gate.

"That's it. Nothing left between us and the salarian camp now." Ashley pointed out.

They made their way back down the stairs, thankful that they were almost there.

"Commander. Normandy's touched down at the base, but it looks like we are grounded. The salarian captain can explain when you arrive." Joker informed her.

Grounded? She wondered what that was all about. As she approached Kaidan she heard him ask," So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Stay put until we come up with a plan." The salarian said.

"Are you in charge here? What's the situation?" Shepard asked the salarian.

"I'm Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew have just landed in a hot-zone. Every AA gun within 10 miles has been alerted to your presence."

"Well then, we will have to do something about that. We were sent here to investigate, your distress call wasn't clear." Shepard told him.

"That's a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place." Kirrahe said.

"What did your investigation turn up?" Shepard asked him.

"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth and very well fortified. He's using the facility to breed an army of krogan." Kirrahe told her.

"How is that possible?" Wrex asked.

"Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage."

"With the geth and an army of krogan, he'd be unstoppable." Shepard said with a shiver.

"Exactly my thoughts. We must make sure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed." Kirrahe stated.

"Destroyed? I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them." Wrex admonished.

"If this gets out the krogan will overrun the galaxy again. We can't make the same mistake." Kirrahe said.

Wrex got up in the salarian's face, his finger jabbing at the skinny chest. "We are _not_ a mistake!" He growled and stormed off.

"Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to deal with." Kirrahe said with frustration.

"I'll talk to him, try to bring him around." Shepard told him.

"I'd appreciate that, Commander." Kirrahe told her and walked off to talk to his men.

Shepard approached Wrex slowly. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to tell him.

"This isn't right, Shepard. If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it." Wrex told her.

"I understand why you are upset. But we both know Saren's the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with." Shepard said.

"Really? Saren created a cure for my people and you want to destroy it. Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand." He grumbled.

"This isn't a cure, it's a weapon. And if Saren is allowed to use it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will."

Wrex pulled his pistol on her. She responded by putting a barrier bubble up around them.

"Why did you put up the barrier?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure you don't want to die. Which would probably have occurred if I didn't put up the barrier." She said pointing behind her to Ashley , Kaidan and Garrus who had their guns ready and trained on Wrex.

Wrex grunted acknowledging the truth of her words and snapped his pistol back to his hip.

"Nothing else matters. That's a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we're talking about!" Wrex growled angrily. "I've been loyal to you so far. Hell, you've done more for me than my family ever did. But if I'm going to continue following you, I need to know we're doing it for the right reasons."

"Wrex, these krogan are not your people. They are slaves of Saren. Tools. Is that what you want for them?"

"No. We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be so generous." Wrex admitted.

"Saren destroys everything he touches. Leaves no evidence behind. You know that, you told me what he did to the mercs that he hired. I'm not saying your people don't deserve to be cured. They do. But, do you honestly believe they have a good enough government in place to keep them in line?" Shepard asked. "If your people were cured, what would they do with it?"

"Go after the salarians and turians for payback." He told her honestly.

"Exactly so. What would happen if they did seek revenge?" She asked.

"Another galactic war." Wrex said.

"Yes. A repeat of history. Is that what you want for your people?" She asked him.

"We could win this time." Wrex said.

"There are just too many races that would join against you. And humanity has been added since the last war. And we're a cagey bunch." Shepard said with a shrug and a smile.

Wrex's face slackened. He shook his head. "All right, Shepard. You've made your point. I don't like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead. But just so you know, I want Saren's head." Wrex told her.

"Wrex, perhaps you should consider going back to your people and becoming the leader they need. With a strong enough leader to take them in a new direction, perhaps they will be ready to have the genophage cured." Shepard said softly as she released the barrier bubble.

"I already told you that I'm not a hero, Shepard."

"Everyone can be a hero, Wrex. How big a hero is up to them. But you are a reasonable man, Wrex. I think you'd make a damn fine leader. You just need to believe in yourself to make it happen."

Wrex rolled his eyes, grumbled about humans in general as he walked away.

She looked at his retreating form. If I can save the cure I will, my friend, but I won't be giving it to you just yet. She turned around and headed back to the rest of her crew.

"Nice work with Wrex. I didn't think anything would calm him down." Kaidan said appreciatively.

"It won't be an easy fight, but we're ready when you are." Ashley told her.

"I can't believe you were able to calm Wrex down. Okay – that's not true. If anyone could calm him, it would be you. You just have a certain _something_ about you, Shepard. But you shouldn't have shielded yourself from us. He could have..." Garrus said and cleared his throat. He couldn't finish that thought.

She placed a hand to his cheek and gave him a soft smile before dropping it. She agreed. There was something about her that made her different. The why of it she was still trying to figure out. "When we go in, if you find the cure - I want you to save for me. I'm trying to convince Wrex to assume control of the krogan. If he does, well - we'll see what the future holds." She nodded at Garrus' stunned look and returned to Kirrahe.

"Thank you for speaking with the krogan. The assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is." Kirrahe told her.

"What's the plan of attack?" Shepard asked.

"We will convert our ship's drive core into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective." Kirrahe said.

"Nice! Drop that nuke from orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye." Ashley said smugly.

"Unfortunately, the facility is too well-fortified for that. We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location on the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first." Kirrahe responded.

"You want us to go in on foot? We don't have enough men." Kaidan said.

"I'm going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we've got their attention, you can sneak your_ shadow_ team in the back."

It's a good idea, but your people are going to get slaughtered." Shepard said with concern.

"We are tougher than we look. Though, you are right. I do not expect many of us will make it out alive. And that makes what I'm going to ask even more difficult. I need one of your team to accompany me. To help coordinate the teams."

"I volunteer, Commander." Kaidan said.

"Not so fast, LT. I'll go with the salarians." Ashley cut in.

"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide." Kaidan admonished her.

"Why is it whenever someone says _with all due respect_ they really mean _kiss my ass_?" Ashley retorted.

Shepard held up her hand to quiet the bickering duo. She thought over her squad. Kaidan offered the best leadership skills. He was the senior ranking officer and he was calm under pressure. Garrus was too rash, Wrex had a grudge against the salarians, and nobody else had leadership abilities. She closed her eyes and focused her sight. Kaidan's aura glowed the brightest. It was good indeed when aura and mind agreed. Kaidan it was.

"Alenko, you're with the captain. Keep it simple and stay safe, understood?" She told him.

"Of course, Commander. I have too much to look forward to. I won't take unneeded risks." He told her with a smile.

Kirrahe nodded. "I will have the ordnance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing. Do you have any questions?" Kirrahe asked.

"I know the Normandy is picking my team up, but how will you escape the blast?"

"We will engage the geth as long as possible. Once the bomb is in place, we will fall back to try to escape. If we move quickly, we should be able to escape with acceptable casualties. If not, then our memories will live on as martyrs to a greater cause." He explained.

She hoped it didn't come to that. "Shadow seems clear enough, what will the other teams be called?"

"Aegohr, Mannovai, and Jaeto. They were the initial settlements on our first three colony worlds. They are at the heart of salarian territory to this day. They will remind my men what they are fighting for. "

"Give me a rundown." Shepard said.

"We will create a distraction while your shadow team infiltrates the base. Make your way to the breeding grounds; disable the AA guns so the Normandy can deliver the nuke. Place the bomb next to the geothermal taps, and then get out before it detonates." Kirrahe explained.

"How reliable is the bomb?" She asked.

"The drive system is highly impervious to damage from external sources. Once armed, very little can stop it." Kirrahe responded.

"We're ready when you are, Captain." Shepard said.

"Excellent. If you will excuse me, I need to prepare my men." He said, then walked around her to have a word with his troops.

Shepard turned to face Kaidan.

"Before I go, I just need to tell you that I - " He looked over at Ashley. "I, ah…I just wanted to say it's been an honor serving under you, er – with you, Commander." Kaidan said with a flush.

"This isn't over by a long shot, Kaidan. So, don't leave here thinking you aren't coming back. I've got your back, just as I always have. Count on it." Shepard told him.

"Understood, Commander." Kaidan replied.

She shook his hand and turned as she heard Kirrahe speak to his men.

"You all know the mission and what is at stake. We were trained for espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes: the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants are not all that we are. Before the networks, there was a fleet. Before diplomacy, there were soldiers. Our influence stopped the rachni, but before that we held the line. Our influence stopped the krogan, but before that we held the line! Our influence _will_ stop Saren! In the battle today, we _will_ hold the line!" Kirrahe's voice boomed his conviction. He turned to face Shepard once more. "Good luck, Commander. I hope we will meet again."

"Me too, Kirrahe. It's been an honor." Shepard said as she shook his hand. The synced their comm channel. She turned to the rest of her team. Ashley, being the only other alliance soldier on the team would be staying with the ship and the bomb. She focused her sight to evaluate the others. What if I took all four of them? Would I have a better chance of success? She gasped when she saw all their auras turn black. A shiver ran down her spine. She'd never seen that happen before and knew she never wanted to again. Perhaps, if she took them all they would garner too much attention or maybe the camp would be overrun, preventing the Normandy from delivering the bomb. Ok. Who do I take with me then? The auras colored up and two shined brighter. Interesting. With krogan involved that's not who she would have chosen…but there had to be a reason. "Garrus, Tali you're with me." Shepard said.

Wrex approached her. "Shepard, I already told you I want Saren's head."

"Wrex, when the time comes, you will have it. But I do not think we will be taking it this day. As much as I wish what happens today will end things, in my heart I know that it will not. My feelings are never wrong, Wrex. I need you and Liara to stay here and defend the ship and the camp. If the camp falls the Normandy won't be able to deliver the bomb. Let me know of any new developments." She assured him. He grumbled discontent, but accepted her words. He knew the camp...the ship needed to be defended at all costs and he knew could do that better than anyone else.

"Comm check. Do you read me, Commander?" Kirrahe asked.

"Loud and clear." She told him.

"Good. We'll start our push. We'll try to make it to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish the job. And Commander? If you see any way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help." Kirrahe informed her.

"Roger that. I'll do what I can. Shepard out." She told Tali the same thing she'd told Garrus about the cure. She wasn't sure who would be a position to obtain it when the time came and she needed them all on the same page. She turned to her team, evaluated them and asked Tali if she could kiss her for luck. Tali agreed. This was the first time Tali had showed up as the good luck charm. She moved in to place a kiss on her helmet and Tali shook her head.

"I've been taking supplements, boosted my immunity and nerve stims since I learned about your system." Tali admitted blushing. "I didn't want to take the chance of my mask preventing proper good luck." She said as she removed the face of her helmet.

"You are very pretty, Tali." Shepard said as she leaned in and slid her lips against Tali's. "Thank you for the honor."

Tali blushed brighter red. She quickly replaced the view plate and programmed another antibiotic boost.

They started forward through the shallow river bed on their way to the communication tower.

"Shadow team is on the ground. I repeat, shadow team is on the ground. Lieutenant Alenko, with Aegor team! Mannovai, Jaeto teams, move! Time to get some attention!"

"Fire is coordinated on Mannovai team. We can't reach the geth turrets. They're out of range!" Kirrahe shouted.

As they approached the tower, several geth on the ground began to fire at them. She ordered her team to take cover and she started tossing geth in the air for them to take down. She grabbed her sniper and blew the head off one on the upper deck of the tower. She snapped it to her back and pulled off her AR and started up the stairs. Two more geth were heading down to greet them. One geth lost his head, spun around and toppled over. Way to go Garrus. She picked up the second and threw it as far as she could, which just happened to be farther than she thought she could. She rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and another geth went down. Garrus was on top of things. She located the control console and deactivated the communications tower. Hopefully, that will disorganize the geth a bit and make things easier for the other teams.

They moved out. Next stop would be the Satellite Uplink. Her radar picked up synthetic signatures ahead. They rounded a bend in the riverbed and took out the two geth there. She noted more signatures, so headed back and took another bend in the riverbed. A geth and several drones greeted them. The geth was easy to take down, the drones not so much. Garrus took one down with an overload. The other was proving to be very good at dodging. Tali finally managed to hack it and it stood still long enough to be destroyed.

They could make out the station ahead.

"Something scrambled their targeting. We've got a shot! Lieutenant Alenko, take the heat off Mannovai!" Kirrahe commanded.

They took down two geth on the ground.

"They're calling for sat-strikes! Jaeto, watch comm stations! Alenko, can you see anything?" Kirrahe asked.

She ran up the stairs, shot a geth and threw a krogan up in the air. She saw the satellite panels above her and started pouring fire into it until it started to come down. Garrus plowed into her, sending them both flying to the left. The panels crashed down where she had been standing.

"Thank you, Garrus. That was very impressive." She told him.

Garrus lowered his forehead to hers. His heart was racing, his breath ragged. The fear he felt when he saw those panels coming down was still tearing through him. "Have a care." He said softly, trying to regain some semblance of control. He rolled off her and helped her to her feet.

Tali gave small smile, tinged with sadness. Before Shepard, Tali never would have thought she'd fall for a woman. But it was hard not to fall in love with Shepard. There was just something about her that drew people in. It was painfully obvious Shepard and Garrus were in love and just as obvious that neither knew. Guess it was time for her to place a wager in Joker's pool before it was too late. She couldn't help but feel time was drawing short before those two would open their eyes and see the truth.

"Aircraft drones heading to perimeter stations to refuel. Bunker up before they come back!" Kirrahe ordered.

They worked their way out the back of the station and a pull led her in the right direction. Tali's drone shot ahead, sending shock bolts at anything it came across. She followed the platform walkways, took out a geth that popped up in her path and continued on and found a refueling platform heavily defended by drones. She took out the two tanks, which in turn took out several drones, and then they focused on the remaining drones. Has she mentioned how annoying they were? When they were down she continued on until she saw the research facility. Instead of heading directly in, she took the platform walkway and circled back around. She did not want any enemies sneaking up their asses. Her gamble paid off. Several enemies had already begun to flank her. They were even able to take out more troops stationed at the facility when they found a nice little sniper perch.

When all the targets were down they made their back to the facility.

"This world is so beautiful. Too bad it's been contaminated by Saren and his geth." Tali remarked.

"Yes," Garrus said. "It reminds me of where I grew up on Palaven. Minus the geth, of course…and it's not as hot here."

"Probably less radiation as well." Shepard said with a laugh.

"Okay, you have me there." Garrus admitted.

"When I retire, I'd like it to be in a place like this." Shepard told them.

Garrus scoffed. "You? Retire, Shepard?" Garrus laughed. "You are likely to stay in uniform until the day your wrinkled body is laid to rest."

"You might be right. But I have a feeling, when all is said and done, that retirement will start to look pretty appealing." She stated.

"The air threat has not materialized. We may be getting some help from Shadow." Kirrahe remarked.

That you are, dear man, she thought. Once at the rear of the facility, her lootdar directed her to the left. She found a nifty stockpile and then headed to the right. There were no more enemies found guarding the rear of the facility, they had managed to take them all down from a distance. Her lootdar led her to a safe on the wall, where she was able to pick up a couple of nice mods. She slipped in through the door, trying to draw as little attention as possible.

"Shadow team must be getting close. Hold the line, men! Hold the line!" Kirrahe ordered.

She followed the walkway around until it led to several locked doors.

"Hostile contacts!" Garrus warned as enemy signatures popped up on his radar.

The signatures were coming from inside the building. She walked up to a console and asked Garrus to get the doors open.

"We've got access to base security. We should be able to cut the alarms from here. Might even be able to trigger alarms on the far side of the base. It'll clear guards out for us, but they might be too much for the salarian teams to handle." Garrus informed her.

"Just disable the alarms. We can handle any guards inside." Shepard told him.

She decided to go through the far door and work her way up. Inside the building there were crazed salarians and more geth. Some mighty large geth at that.

"Salarians? Right. The captain said he had lost some men. I thought he meant they died." Garrus said.

"They were indoctrinated. What's going on in this place?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, Tali. But I intend to find out." Shepard assured her.

When the main floor was clear, she headed up the stairs. A geth destroyer was up there waiting. She threw a stasis field at him and they poured bullets in him until he went down.

They went through the rear door, found nothing in the next room, so continued forward. Through the next door she heard a salarian yell, "Is someone out there?" She looked over the railing and saw several salarians imprisoned in cells below.

The next door opened up into a large room with two crazy salarians that had to be put down, several terminals, two doors and an elevator.

"Give a little ground, Lieutenant. We don't want them to bunker-up. Draw them out." Kirrahe informed him.

This must be the security office. But which door to explore first? She found a couple of stashes of guns, but left them. She didn't need them. She opted to take the door to the left of the elevator. She followed the steps down. It led her to the imprisoned salarians she had seen before.

"Well, you're not a geth. And you're not wearing a lab coat. I guess I'm glad to see you." The salarian said. "Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration Regiment, captured during recon. I assume the fleet was called in to destroy the base?" Ganto asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard. The transmission wasn't clear. The fleet is not coming." Shepard told him.

"I see. Then you must be the infiltration team. I know the captain. He will want this facility destroyed. My team was altered, indoctrinated. The captain knew about the breeding grounds. But the indoctrination is a greater threat, and far more horrifying. I watched good people get reduced to mindless husks. There wasn't anything left. Others died during the experiments. I envy them."

"Do you know anything about the experiments they were conducting?" Shepard asked him.

"They were studying indoctrination. Symptoms, progress. Saren uses it to control his people, but I don't think he fully understands it. I don't know much else. I just saw what it did to the others. Turned them into empty husks. I can't end up like that. Please – let me out!" He implored her.

"I'm opening your cell, but then you're on your own. We are going in deeper to bring this place down. It isn't safe to stay with us." She told him.

"Don't look back and hope to outrun the blast, hmm? A better chance than I had before you showed up." Ganto replied. "Thank you."

When he ran out the door she looked into the next cell. A group of salarians were just standing there. Not doing much of anything.

"These look docile. Their minds are gone." Tali said sadly.

"Why would Saren do this? There is just no reason for what he's done." Garrus said.

"Open the doors. Give them a chance to outrun the blast." Shepard said.

"Are you sure? They could hurt themselves or attack us." Tali pointed out.

"Let them out, they won't hurt us." Sheppard assured her.

The door opened and they just continued to stand there.

Shepard sighed. "It's all we can do for them." She said.

They took the stairs back up to the security office and on to the door on the right of the elevator. She ascended the stairs and was led to another row of salarian filled cells. These were far worse off than the ones below were. Aggressive even. She finally found one with the power of speech.

"What do you want? I told you everything! I – Who are you? Alliance, right? I knew someone would come. It tried to break me, but it couldn't! I shut it out!" The salarian said frantically.

"Slow down, I need to know where you came from." Shepard said to him.

"Private Menos Avot of the Third Infiltration Regiment STG, ma'am! Captured while on reconnaissance six days ago. Glad to answer, ma'am! Never any questions from these bastards. Just whispers and poking and cutting. I'd have said anything to get out and get some payback. That's not too much to ask is it? A little payback?" Avot asked.

"What did they do to you, soldier?" She asked him.

"Experiments, but I don't know what for. The effect of incessant whispering on my shortening temper? Who knows? I just need out!" Avot said frantically.

"Something is not right here, Shepard." Tali said.

"Agreed. Setting him free could endanger the mission. I can't take that chance." Shepard said.

"Can't take that chance…no chance. I need to do what it says. I have to! Let me out!" Avot said in desperation.

The salarian grew very agitated, he ran to the front of his cell, slamming his head against the glass. "Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!"

Shepard backed up and shook her head in sorrow, they needed to move on. They took the stairs back down to the security office. Only the elevator left.

When the elevator doors opened, she saw a number of rotating scanning devices, each containing a husk. The husks were released and an asari charged them.

"No! What's going on? Where's Saren?" A krogan asked.

One by one the asari and husks were taken down.

"No! Stay back!" Dr. Droyas said. "This is important work! This is the glorious salvation of my species!"

"This is horrendous, not glorious…nor is your species ready for it." Shepard said sadly as she raised the krogan in the air for her team to take care of. She'd never met a krogan scientist before and she couldn't bring herself to kill him outright. He was indoctrinated, but he had been a rarity.

Outside of some more goodies, there was nothing of any importance that they could find in the lab. Except, perhaps the terminals. "Spread out and pick a terminal. Try to find the cure."

"I found something encrypted!" Garrus said.

"So did I."

"Great upload the files to your OT or an OSD if you have one. We'll hope for the best and worry about decrypting later." She too found some encrypted files. When they were finished with their uploads they went through a side door and followed the walkway; it ended at a door with two geth guarding it. It didn't end well. At least not for the geth.

Inside the office an asari popped up from beneath a table. "Don't shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late." The asari begged.

"Commander Shepard. Spectre. Let's hear it. Who are you and what are you doing here." Shepard demanded.

"Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. Sooner or later Saren will want to dissect my brain, too!"

"I thought this was supposed to be a breeding facility." Shepard said.

"Not at this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible." Rana said.

"You helped him and you didn't even know why?" Garrus asked in irritation.

"I didn't have the option of negotiating. This position is a little more…permanent than I'd expected. But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." Rana said. She walked over to the elevator console and programmed it. "See? Full access. Are we good? Can I go now?"

"Tell me about Sovereign's effect on organics." Shepard stated.

"It begins with a tingle at the back of the mind. A whisper that you can't quite hear. You're compelled to do things but you don't know why. You just obey. If you don't you will feel great pain until you comply. Eventually, you just stop thinking for yourself. But there is a balance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains the less capable it becomes. I think Saren's scared it might be affecting him. My first test subject was the man I replaced. I just want to get out of here before it happens to me." Rana explained.

"I'm going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you'd better start running." Shepard told her point blank.

"What? You can't…but I'll never…ahh!" Rana yelled as she ran for the door.

Garrus looked over at Shepard, his mandibles spreading just a bit. "You enjoyed that, Shepard."

"Maybe just a little." Shepard admitted with a smile.

They followed the path to Saren's private lab. They entered an elevator, which took them up to the next floor. As they stepped out of it they saw a green glow.

"Shepard, look over here. It's another beacon. Like the one on Eden Prime." Garrus told her.

"Stay back both of you." Shepard said as she approached it.

"Shepard - " Garrus warned her out of worry.

"We need this, Garrus. You know we do." Shepard told him. She carfully approached the beacon. It flared, latched onto her and raised her up. Pictures poured into her mind. Death…blood…the map. When it released her she fell to her knees.

"Shepard-" Garrus said as he started towards her.

"Stay back, Garrus! Let me just get my bearings." Shepard said.

Garrus waited impatiently for her to rejoin them. When she did he grabbed her chin gently and moved her face from side to side looking for…hell if he knew what he was looking for, he just felt to need to touch her...to make sure she was ok.

"I'm fine!" She told Garrus. She knew he was only worried about her. She softened her voice, "Thank you for your concern, but I really am ok." She said, laying a hand briefly on his cheek. Then she turned and walked over to a red glowing console to see what she could learn from it.

What looked to be a red glowing holo of a massive bug came into view.

"This is not good." Garus stated.

"You are not Saren." Came the deep automated voice.

"What is that? Some sort of VI interface?" Garrus asked.

"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding." The thing said.

"I don't think this is a VI." Garrus said.

"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!" Sovereign boasted.

"Get over yourself." Shepard told the machine. "Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!" She told her crew.

"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."

"The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!" Garrus argued.

"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything." Sovereign warned her.

"Know this. _I_ am something _you_ cannot comprehend. I am the herald of your failure…The portent of your demise. The last thing you will remember before you die is me." Shepard said coldly.

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind. Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."

"They're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!" Tali said in outrage.

"They will not wipe us out. Their days of destruction are over... You've wiped out your _last_ civilization. You _will_ fall before me. And I will smile."

"You can always try the smile now, Shepard. Maybe it will fall in love with you and leave us alone." Garrus said only half joking.

"Very funny, Garrus. Besides, if it didn't work on you, it sure won't work on that...thing." Shepard threw at him.

Garrus froze and blinked. "Well, it couldn't hurt." Damn, but he'd almost told her it had worked on him.

"My kind transcends your understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom." Sovereign warned.

"That's where you're wrong, big guy. You are so filled with arrogance that you cannot even see the danger right in front of you. You're just a machine. And machines can be broken. I will end you all." Shepard warned it.

"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over." Sovereign said disdainfully.

"About damn time." Shepard stated.

The windows to the right of them exploded. Shepard threw up a barrier bubble as glass sprayed everywhere with the powerful blast of energy. When it settle she drew the barrier energy back into her.

"Did you have to piss it off, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Its never-ending boasts were getting on my nerves." Shepard admitted.

"You don't say," said Garrus sarcastically.

"Commander? We got trouble." Joker broke in.

"Hit me, Joker." Shepard said.

"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It's coming your way, and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there - fast!" Joker warned.

"That console's been disabled. Orders, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Let's head to the breeding facility. Time to blow this place to hell." Shepard said.

"Right, Commander. I'll meet you there. Joker out."

They took the elevator back down. It was time to end this. As they exited the labs a geth destroyer was waiting for them on the walkway. She picked it up and threw it. No time for war games. She heard gunfire and knew Garrus must be shooting the shit out of it for grins and giggles.

"The geth are turning from your position, Jaeto. Looks like Shadow kicked a sensitive spot! Alenko, head them off! Hold them out here!" Kirrahe ordered.

They entered another door and bore left on the catwalks. Three krogan were kind enough to give them a welcome. She was kind enough to give them a goodbye. She tossed out a singularity and bypassed it, letting her team take the trash out.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled in exasperation. He hated it when she took off alone like that.

She entered a doorway, followed the hall around a bend and ended up back out on the catwalks. The walkway was ramped in an upward direction. Because they were heading to higher ground, she expected an ambush while the enemy had the vantage point. So, she had her team progress slowly. This worked in their favor, as they made it close enough to the enemy to fire before being seen. There was a krogan on the walkway's shoulder. And three drones that had _kill-me_ stamped all over them. We were anything if not obliging. They spotted the massive AA gun that protected the facility.

"That turret could punch some nasty holes in the Normandy!" Garrus said appreciatively.

They proceeded up the ramp and ascended the stairway. At the top there was a control room and an elevator. She used the control console to deactivate the AA gun and turned to enter the elevator.

"Look out! They followed us up!" Garrus yelled.

She threw out a singularity for the sheer power and strength that it had and watched the geth get sucked up into it. Beautiful.

"That's it. We need to clear the geth and set those charges." Kirrahe said.

They hopped the elevator down and went through another door that opened up into what had to be the breeding chamber. Water, or some liquid, covered the floor. Tanks lined both sides of the room. Geth were at the far end. One of them got a shot off at her and red electricity danced along her shields. Garrus, who seemed to have designated himself her guardian angel, took down the geth that shot her. She and Tali took down the others.

As they neared the door, Kirrahe broke in again. "Charges set! Everyone bunker down. Bunker down!"

Both guns were down. The massive door lifted and they waded out into cooling water.

"All right! Nice work. That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site as I can." Joker said.

As the ship descended, Shepard and her team made a run for the far side to avoid getting downed by their own ship. Squashed by Normandy was not a welcome epithet on her grave marker, especially after the boasts she'd made to sovereign.

Workers carried the bomb down the Normandy's cargo bay door and set it down next to the geothermal taps. Ashley walked over to her, then spoke to someone on her comm. "Bomb is in position, we're all set he-"

"Commander, do you read me?" Kaidan asked.

"The nuke is almost ready, Lieutenant. Get to the rendezvous point!" Shepard ordered.

"Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We'll never make it to the rendezvous point in time." Kaiden replied.

"Joker. Get them out of there now!" Shepard demanded.

"Negative. It's too hot! You can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we-" kaidan broke off.

"It's okay, Commander. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the nuke. Go get them and meet me back here." Ashley told her.

Shepard nodded. "Up to the AA tower. Move!"

They moved back through the massive breeding chamber door. She could hear the warble of geth before the door even opened very far. She amped her power and tossed a singularity to the back of the chamber as soon as the door was open enough to do so. Geth and krogan alike were sucked into it. The three of them took down the hapless idiots. They made their way to the far door, stepping over the corpses that littered the ground.

They headed left after the elevator door opened. A geth ship could be spotted above.

"Reinforcements. We better hurry." Garrus said.

"Chief. We just spotted a troop ship inbound to your location." Kaidan alerted her.

"It's already here LT and it's bleeding geth all over the bomb site." Ashley said.

"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked her.

"There's too many, I don't think we can hold them. I'm setting the bomb, now." Ashley stated.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Williams?" Shepard demanded.

"Making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what." Ashley paused a moment. "It's done, Commander. Go get the lieutenant and get the hell out of here!"

"Belay that, Commander. We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Williams." Kaidan answered.

Shepard poured over the facts. There were 2-3 people at the bomb site. There were several more at the AA tower. The bomb was already set; there was a chance they would not make it anyway. Shepard forced the sight. Should she send someone back to help Ashley? She watched as her friends' auras turned black. No matter who she sent to aid Ashley, they would die with her. She hung her head. "Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the AA tower."

"Yes, Commander. I…" Kaidan said solemnly.

"You_ know_ it's the right choice, LT!" Ashley admonished.

"Ashley, I'm sorry. The bomb is set, I can't change that. There are more lives at stake at the AA tower. I wanted to send someone back to you, but their auras showed they would die if I did. If there was anything I could do, I would do it. Forgive me." Shepard told her as she made her way to the AA tower.

"I understand. There is nothing to forgive, Commander. I don't regret a thing." Ashley told her, while firing her gun at the incoming geth.

They ran through the far door and into the elevator. They had their guns in hand and hit the ground running as soon as the door opened.

"Commander, you have to hurry! We can't hold these things off long. Watch the corners! Suppressing fire!" Kaidan yelled.

"We're already here…taking out the enemies flanking you." Shepard assured him.

As the last enemy fell, Saren flew down on his platform. He threw a powerful biotic blast at her; she jumped and rolled to get out of its path.

When he got off the platform she stood up to meet him.

"This has been an impressive diversion, vela. My geth were convinced the salarians were the real threat…but look at you here – vela."

Garrus shot her a curious look. Why the hell would Saren be calling her vela?

"You do not have the right to call me that!" Shepard said coldly.

Seran laughed. "Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake. You've seen the visions from the beacons, vela. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped." He told her.

"That is where you are wrong. They _will _fall before me, Saren. I _will _stop them." Shepard assured them.

"Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. The Protheans did. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would they still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren asked.

"Do you honestly think they'd let us live? They have destroyed countless civilizations!" Shepard admonished.

"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win." Saren explained.

"Once they have used us up, the Reapers will not let us live. Or if they did, there would not be enough of our minds left to survive on our own. You, of all people, know what indoctrination does!" Shepard told him.

"I was aware of Sovereign's…dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me." Saren admitted.

"But it hasn't, has it? Even now you are falling victim to him." Shepard retorted.

"Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own…for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me." Saren told her.

"Why would the geth follow Sovereign?" She asked him.

"They believe Sovereign to be some kind of god. But the reaction of their deity is most telling: it is insulted. They are just tools, and no amount of belief on their part will change that."

"You were a Spectre. You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke your vow and allied with a Reaper…that wants to kill us all." Shepard said in disgust.

"Sovereign will succeed. My way is the only way any of us will survive!" Saren insisted.

"You are deluded! If we are indoctrinated, we cannot survive!" Shepard pointed out.

Saren growled. "You would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die…vela". He said and threw a stasis bubble at Garrus and Tali.

Looking back at her team distracted her. A blast of energy caught her unaware and sent her flying. Saren stormed over, grabbed her by the throat, drug her to the edge of the platform and dangled her over its precipice. She stared him in the eyes as he just looked at her. Time seemed to stand still. She amped her power and shot a wave at Saren, propelling him backwards. Reflexively he dropped her. She amped her power just enough to keep herself from hurtling over the edge. She amped again, preparing to charge him, but he was already lifting off on his flying platform.

They were out of time. She ran towards her team, who were just being released from the stasis bubble. Her legs started shaking, due to shock or adrenaline, she wasn't sure. Garrus picked her up and ran for the Normandy.

Kaidan sent Garrus a vehement glare, which Garrus completely ignored. That rankled Kaidan all the more. If anyone was going to carry the Commander, it should be him.

"Everybody hang on!" Joker said as they burst into FTL to avoid the blast.

"Debriefing in 30," Garrus said and strolled out of the airlock and down the stairs. Garrus noticed Kaidan was still following and rolled his eyes. "If you want to do something useful, get her some food. She's drained." Garrus pointed out.

After Virmire

Kaidan nodded and headed to the mess. Angered that he had to be told to do this. Why hadn't he thought of it first? He had been too focused on his jealousy to think straight. It was a humbling thought. And Garrus had the right of it. He never would have picked up the Commander without her approval, and even if he had her approval, he was pretty drained himself and would probably have dropped them both on their asses. Garrus made the right call. He piled the tray full of food, even added several pieces of turian - whatever the hell it was and headed back to her cabin.

Normally, she would not tolerate being treated like child in front of her crew. She needed to be strong at all times in front of her crew. But, she was enjoying herself more than she wanted to admit. Garrus strode into her cabin and deposited her on the sofa and sat down next to her holding her hand. "Are you ok, Shepard?" He asked concerned.

"I'll be fine. I think it was a combination of delayed shock and adrenaline…perhaps a touch of biotic exhaustion." She said blushing.

Garrus nodded, released her hand, jumped up and started pacing the room. "I could see everything that bastard did to you and I couldn't lift a hand to help you. I don't ever want to feel that helpless again. Not where you're concerned." He said aggravated.

"You were in stasis. There was nothing you could have done." She assured him.

"I know that. That doesn't make it any easier to swallow. I couldn't protect you." He said bitterly.

She walked over to him and placed her hands on either side of his neck and sent soothing thoughts to him. "I'm a big girl, Garrus. I don't need to be protected all the time."

His arms went around her and he pulled her in for a hug. Yes…yes, you do. He lowered his forehead to hers and wished he could feel her lips on him again. He felt her hand move against the skin of his neck and fire shot through his veins. He closed his eyes trying to control the fever within him. For just a moment he thought he would lose it and crush her to him, take what he needed most. Then the chime from the door broke into his thoughts. He released her and backed away to answer the door. Kaidan, Liara, and Tali came pouring through.

She plopped herself back down on the sofa. Kaidan and Garrus sat on either side of her and Liara and Tali took the chairs. They all dug into the food and talked quietly amongst themselves.

When the plate was all but licked clean, she bid everyone farewell and hit the shower. By the time she made it to the comm room, everyone was already there.

"I…I can't believe Ash didn't make it. How could we just leave her down there?" Kaidan asked.

"If we'd have had time to save her, we would have. Retrieving her body would have killed us all. Williams knew the risks going in. She gave her life to save the rest of us." Shepard told him.

"But why me? Why not her?" He asked.

"The bomb was already set. We may not even have had enough time to get to her and safely get away. Also, there were only a couple of people at the bomb site. There were a lot more people at the AA tower. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. I'm sorry, Kaidan"

"But if I'd done my job, you wouldn't have had to make that call." Kaidan insisted.

"You _did _do your job. It wasn't my fault, it wasn't yours. Saren is the only one to blame for what happened on Virmire." Shepard pointed out.

"Yes, ma'am. He'll get what's coming to him." Kaidan said.

Everyone agreed with that.

"Shepard? Excuse me for interrupting. But, I have an idea. I think the beacon you found in Saren's base might have filled in the missing pieces of your vision. I might be able to help you put all those pieces together." Liara said shyly.

"You want to join our minds again. Okay," Shepard said standing up. "Go ahead."

Liara grabbed both her hands. "Relax, Shepard. Embrace eternity." Liara said and her eyes turned black as she melded their minds. Shepard pushed out and merged their auras, sharing thoughts and feelings over the images that flew through her mind. Liara gasped and clung to her tighter. When it was over Shepard released their auras.

Liara opened her eyes and stood there stunned. The feelings and pictures had overwhelmed her and the loss of the connection was painful. She had never felt so connected to another being. It had been as intimate as asari bonding could be. She never knew a human could be so empathic. Shepard was better than any asari she'd met when it came down to it. They'd just bonded intimately in front of a room full of people and no one knew the depth of it but her. Liara knew that Shepard would probably never see her as anything more than a friend, but for Liara it was too late. Gone was the school girl crush, the hero worship. When they merged together so completely into one being, she fell absolutely, madly in love with Commander Shepard. And that thought terrified her. She was only 106, after all. "I…I never thought the images…the feelings would be so…intense."

"Did the vision make any sense to you?" Shepard asked.

"It's a distress call, a message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late." Liara told her.

"What about the Conduit? I saw a map of sorts." Shepard asked.

Liara nodded. "There were images. Locations. Places I recognized from my research…Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos! That is why Saren needed to find the Mu Relay! It is the only way to get to Ilos." Liara said with excitement.

"Then that's where we need to be. Ilos!" Shepard stated matter of fact.

"Forget it. The Mu Relay's inside the Terminus Systems Alliance ships are not welcome there. Neither are Spectres." Tali reminded her.

"The Conduit's on Ilos. That's where Saren's going. I'll be waiting for him when he gets there!" Shepard responded.

"Saren will have his entire fleet orbiting Ilos. You'll never make it to the surface without reinforcements." Liara told her.

"We're done here. Dismissed." Shepard stated.

"Commander, there's a comm buoy nearby. I can link us in if you want to report back to the Citadel Council. You know, warn them about Sovereign." Joker said.

"They're not going to believe any of this. Not without proof. We'd just be wasting our time." Shepard told him bitterly.

"Aye, aye, Commander. Sovereign will be sitting on the Citadel's roof before those bastards listen to us." Joker agreed.

She noticed Kaidan fidgeting at his work center outside her cabin.

"I wanted to see how you were dealing with Ash's death." Shepard asked with concern.

"I'm dealing, ma'am." He said. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you deal with the losses on Elysium?"

"It was my job to get everyone out safe. I failed. I vowed not to let it happen again. Same here. I'll remember her, and I'll do better for her." Shepard admitted.

"I guess that's all we can do." Kaidan agreed solemnly.

"She died a hero so that we could take Seran down." Shepard reminded him.

"You're right. We're so close now. When we deliver everything, the Council will have to mobilize around us. And you've been at the forefront, even back in the Blitz. You'll probably get another Star of Terra out of this…I don't think I've ever met a woman like you." Kaidan said in awe.

"And you'll never meet another. I'm…different. I think they broke the mold when they made me. Not sure the galaxy could handle two of me anyway." Shepard said with a wry laugh. "What do you think about what happened on Virmire?"

"Hell, I don't know. We're fighting giant machines from outside the galaxy. Should I be afraid of them? Or in awe of them? Anything so old, so intelligent…" He said.

"We gave the turians a boot in the ass…we'll give them one too." Shepard assured him.

"I think we're going to need a bigger boot." Kaidan responded.

Shepard laughed her way all the way down to the cargo hold. She wanted to check on Wrex and their salarian guests.

She wanted to get the talk with Wrex out of the way first.

"Commander. Things got heated back on Virmire…You did what you had to. I respect your choice." Wrex told her.

"I appreciate what you did, Wrex. I won't forget it." She assured him.

"Just make sure it was worth it." Wrex grumbled. "Saren has to pay for what he's done."

"He will, Wrex. We will hunt him down and make him pay for his crimes."

"I like the sound of that!" Wrex growled.

She nodded and walked over to their salarian guests.

"It was an honor working with you, Commander Shepard. Despite the losses, our mission was a success." Kirrahe told her. "My superiors will duly honor Chief Williams for her actions. Her sacrifice has earned humanity a great deal of respect from my people."

"Ash was a hell of a soldier. She knew what the risks were, but she did what she had to." Shepard said proudly.

"Of course. A grim reality that every soldier must accept. Rest assured, Commander, my men and I will not forget what you have accomplished here. We will leave your ship as soon as you reach your next destination. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to work together again someday." Kirrahe told her.

"I hope so, Kirrahe. It's been an honor." Shepard said with a smile and shook his hand.

Kirrahe's mouth dropped open in shock. Wrex and Garrus broke out in a chorus of guffaws. They'd been waiting for that to happen. Priceless.

She shot Wrex and Garrus a sour look. Not sure why they were laughing so hard. She returned her attention to Rentola, glad to see he was ok too.

"You have my gratitude, Commander. Most people would have left our team behind." Rentola commended her.

"I'm just glad I could be there for you." She smiled and shook his hand too.

Rentola's mouth gaped and he took a shaky step backwards. A new chorus of laughter broke out, this time Kirrahe joined in.

She spun around. She looked down to make sure she her pants were still up where they were supposed to me. If her pants weren't at her ankles, then what the hell was the joke? "What's so funny?" She asked the room in general. "Maybe I want in on the joke." She complained.

The laughter broke out again, this time harder.

"The joke is on us, Shepard. Not you. We were laughing at ourselves." Garrus assured her.

She gave him a sour glare and stomped into the elevator.

"Someone's in the dog house again!" Wrex said with glee, and started laughing his ass off again.

Garrus shot him an icy glare and took off after Shepard. He could still hear Wrex laughing as the elevator began to rise.

Kirrahe looked over at Wrex. "They don't know, do they?" He asked.

Wrex shook his head. "Not even a clue. Do you want in on the wager?"

Kirrahe looked at Rentola. They both nodded. And two more were added to the wager pool.

Garrus stopped by her cabin, she wasn't there. His next stop was the Starboard Lounge, but again she wasn't there. His last stop was the fitness room. She was busy working the uneven bars. Garrus was in awe. The way she flowed around the bars, it was almost sensual. When she pointed her toes and spread her legs he about damn near swallowed his tongue. She did a few more loops and twists before a final flip off the bar. She landed in front of him.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked as she breezed around him and grabbed her towel. She flung her towel around her neck and dabbed her hair line. She picked up her water, tilted her head back and began to drink. Trying to pretend he wasn't there.

Garrus shivered. He could feel the cold coming off her words. I guess that would mean yes, he thought, answering his own question. "I wanted to see if you were still upset with me." He watched her throat muscled move as she swallowed water. Damn, he was in bad shape if he couldn't even watch her drink water without it turning him on.

She put her water down, a little hard. "At being made the butt of a joke that no one cared to share with me? Why would that upset me in the slightest? Not too many people like being laughed at, Garrus. Laughed with, yes…laughed at, not so much. It hurt."

Ouch. Prickly. He grabbed the ends of her towel in one hand and pulled her to the left. He backed her up against the wall and put hands to either side of her caging her in. He put one leg forward to keep her from sliding out. He wasn't fooling himself, he knew she was allowing herself to be trapped by him. "We were not laughing at you. Do you honestly think I would do something to hurt you? Do you think I'd let someone else? You should know me better than that." he said, more than a little hurt himself.

She heard the pain in his voice and felt bad about her suppositions. She removed his visor and laid on the table to the right of her. She brought her hands up and gently stroked his brow plates, drew her fingers down his mandibles. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "Then what were you laughing at?"

He closed his eyes and shivered at the sensation. He felt her fingers trailing down both sided of his neck. He knew she was trying to sooth him, but it was having a very opposite effect. Fire laced through his veins and his body swayed towards her. He felt the heat of her core on his thigh. He had forgotten that he'd put his knee out to prevent her from getting away. His eyes popped open and burned into hers until her words sank into his brain. "We really were just laughing at each other," he said thickly.

She could feel the truth of his words through her touch. She was also very aware of his thigh between her legs and the havoc it was creating with her senses. It was taking all of her control to not hump his leg like a dog in heat. She could only imagine the look on his face if she were to do such a thing. That brought a smile to her face.

Garrus…well, Garrus swallowed his tongue. He backed away as a coughing fit hit him.

Shepard grabbed the front of his carapace to keep him from getting away. She placed her other hand on the side of his neck and sent calming, soothing waves at him. Her hand felt a little warm, but she kept it up until his coughing subsided. Then she let him go.

"Thank you. I'm…hmmm…not sure what happened there." He said.

"No biggie, it happens to us all." She assured him. "You want to dance?"

"If that means I can throw you on your ass, you bet." Garrus said.

They had gone a few rounds when Kaiden walked in. He saw them sparring, pulled his shirt out of his pants. Since his pants were form fitting, nothing would be hidden and if he was sparring with Shepard, he needed every bit of coverage his shirt could give him. Kaidan spent a couple of minute stretching and then jumped into the fray.

Whoever lost the round had to sit it out and play the winner of the next round. After several rounds she noticed the boys tended to play a little rougher with each other than they did with her. "Are you two holding out on me?" She asked.

Kaidan swung his head around to look at her. Big mistake. Garrus took advantage plowed into him and flipped him head over ass and landed on top of him…hard, knocking the breath out of him. Garrus gave him a hand up as he wheezed, trying to draw air into his lungs. Garrus gave him a thwack on his back, it sent him forward a few paces , but opened up his airways.

"Don't ever let yourself get distracted. Your enemies will use it against you every time." Garrus warned.

"Duly noted." Kaidan said.

"Sorry about that, Kaidan. But I noticed you two spar harder with each other than you do with me. I don't want you holding back just because I'm a woman."

Kaidan flushed. "No, ma'am…it has nothing to do with that."

"He's right, Shepard. Kaidan and I have a few – er…differences. We probably get a little…carried away during the matches."

"Just see that you work it out here and that it doesn't carry over into the field." She said giving them each a stern look.

"Aye, aye, ma'am…in the field we've got each other's backs." Kaidan assured her.

Garrus nodded his agreement.

"Good to hear." She picked up her towel, twirled it and thwacked them both in the ass. "Hit the showers boys, we have a meeting with Ilos." When she saw their eyes pop open in shock she shot them the biggest smile she could muster and burst out laughing as she headed out the door. Priceless.

The two men stared after her. Gasped and then sucked in huge mouthfuls of air. They looked at each other and laughed. They would surely be glaring at each other later…but right now they were in the same boat, riding out the tidal wave that was Shepard.

Garrus went and retrieved his visor and left the fitness room to Kaidan.

Shepard stripped off her workout clothing and tossed it down the chute. She put a green jade 4-leaf clover in her navel and headed to the shower. She picked up her waterproof b.o.b. that she kept near the shower and spent a little time with it, wishing it were Garrus, but needing the release nonetheless. She hit the quick-dry, slipped into another cammo suit and headed to the CIC.

Clean, refreshed, relaxed and ready to go. She stepped up to the galaxy map.

"I forwarded the mission update to the Citadel, Commander. We've got confirmation on those reinforcements. Ambassador Udina wants us to report back to the Citadel. The Council is massing a joint-species fleet to deal with Saren and his geth." Joker informed him.

"Took them long enough. Back to the Citadel, Joker. I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet!" Shepard said as she turned and headed back to her cabin.

Garrus was already waiting for her in her cabin. "I hear we're headed to the Citadel. That the Council is finally ready to back us up." He said.

Shepard fell onto the sofa, stretched out and put her head in his lap. "I don't know Garrus. That's the word. But it's just hard for me to believe they will actually pull through." She gave a small yawn and fell asleep.

Garrus peeled off his thin glove and ran his talons through her hair carefully. He loved the feel of her silky hair upon his skin. He sighed, put his glove back on, and slipped out from beneath her. He picked her up, carried her to bed and lay down beside her. He pulled her against him and joined her for a brief nap.

"Commander, ETA 17 minutes out." Joker informed her.

"Thank you, Joker." She mumbled.

Joker chuckled. "Have a nice nap, Commander?"

"Could have used a longer one," she groused.

Joker laughed some more and cut the line.

She rolled over in Garrus' arms and rested her forehead against his. "Time to get up. We've got to face the Council. I'm taking you with."

They rolled out of bed. Garrus hit his radar and picked up the life sign blip on his radar. "Kaidan's out there."

Shepard shook her head and smiled. She commed Joker. "Joker, have Kaidan meet me at the airlock in 10."

"Right away, Commander." Joker responded.

"You are devious! Is it any wonder that I – er…think you're the greatest?" Garrus asked.

Garrus cleared his throat and turned his head as she changed out of her cammos and into her bodysuit. She slid on her armor and was ready to go.

When Kaidan's blip disappeared Garrus slipped out of her cabin and ran for the elevator. He only had a few minutes left to suit up and get to the airlock.

They threaded their way through the tower and across the platform to face the Council.

"Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren!" Udina said.

"The Ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel –as you believe – we will be ready for him." The asari Councilor said.

"Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems." The turian Councilor replied.

"You think a blockade's going to stop him? He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now! What are you doing about that?" Shepard asked with irritation.

"Ilos is accessible through the Mu Relay, deep inside the Terminus Systems, Commander. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war" The salarian Councilor pointed out.

"Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over." Udina said with certainty.

"One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war." Shepard reminded.

"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire. Things seem to explode around you, Shepard!" The turian Councilor said coldly.

"Your style served you well in the Traverse, Commander. We recognize that. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control." The asari Councilor assured her.

"If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all screwed! We have to go to Ilos!" Shepard stated firmly.

"Ambassador Udina, I get the sense Commander Shepard isn't willing to let this go." The Turian Councilor stated.

"There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you. But now you're becoming more trouble than you're worth."

"You bastard! You're selling us out!" Kaidan said bitterly.

"It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked all of the Normandy's systems. Until further notice, you're grounded." Udina said.

"More trouble than I'm worth? I'm worth 10 of you!-" Shepard began.

"I'd say 100, Commander." Kaidan and Garrus interrupted at the same time. They smiled and high fived…or perhaps high threed in Garrus' case.

"I will remember this, Udina. You will rue this day, mark my words. Nobody stabs me in the back, Udina. Nobody." Shepard said with a cold smile.

"I think it's time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help, of course." Udina stated snidely.

She made her way back to the Normandy, threw off her armor, pulled on a workout suit and headed to the fitness room. She tackled a dummy with a vengeance.

That is where Garrus found her. "Are you trying to kill it, Shepard?" He asked gently.

She turned around and slid down onto the floor, resting her back against the dummy. "I was pretending it was Udina." She said ruefully.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked her.

"No, in the mood I'm in I'd probably hurt you." She said truthfully.

"I think I can handle it, Shepard." Garrus responded.

"Garrus, in the best of times I'm too much woman for you to handle…and these are not the best of times." She said with a grin.

"Ooh…you so did not just say that. I can handle _anything _you can dish out." He told her.

"Really? We'll just have to test that theory one of these days. I bet I could drop you to your knees." She said smugly.

"I know you could and you'd be under me in the next blink." He said softly. He shook his head. This conversation was going in a direction he hadn't intended.

"Cagey, aren't you?" She said and laughed.

He sorely needed to redirect this conversation. "About the Council. I can't believe they wouldn't listen to us. Can the decision be appealed?" he asked.

"I pushed them as far as I could, they won't budge."

"So that's it? We just sit here? We let them win and damn us all?" He asked surprised.

"We lost the battle, not the war. I'll figure something out." She told him.

"You know I'm here for you in _any_ way that you need, right?" he asked her softly.

"I'm glad you're here with me Garrus. You always make me feel better. I don't know what I'd do without you."

And I you, he thought. "You looked like you were ready to ream the Council. Much as they deserve it, it's probably better not to burn a bridge you may need to cross later." He shook his head. "That left a bad taste. I think I just threw up in my mouth."

"Tell me about it… I think we need to take a little initiative." She said with a wicked grin.

"That's my girl. That's why I lo—like you so much." He said with a nervous chuckle. He held out his hand and helped her up and into his arms. He put his forehead to hers. "We will do this, Shepard."

"Damn straight we will." She said. "Garrus?" She asked softly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Would it offend you if I asked you for a good luck kiss…I mean, I just feel - "

Garrus lowered his mouth to hers. She rested one hand on the back of his head, running her fingers along the skin between his plates, and the other hand rested on his cheek. She moved her soft lips against his, they lingered a moment. Then she put her forehead to his. "Thank you." She whispered.

"You don't ever have to thank me for that, Shepard." He said thickly, trying to calm his racing heart. "There can never be too much good luck." He said, spreading his mandibles in a smile.

"Garrus? I think I need to tell you something. I - "

"Sorry to interrupt, Commander. Got a message from Captain Anderson."

"What did he say?" She asked.

"Only said to meet him at the club in the wards. Flux."

"Thanks, Joker."

"Do you want to go with me?" She asked him.

"Do you even need to ask?" He inquired incredulously.

"Joker. Tell Wrex to gear up and meet us in the airlock in 15."

"Aye, aye, Commander." Joker said.

"Time to fly. I've got to shower and gear up…see you in a few." She said and breezed out the door.

They met up at the airlock and headed out onto the Citadel to meet up with David.

"It must be pretty hard for you Garrus to know that all this death and destruction is caused by a turian Spectre." Wrex said trying to push Garrus' buttons.

"Saren is either a traitor or a madman; either way bringing him down will restore the good name of turians everywhere." Garrus stated.

"Good. Cause I was losing sleep about people not loving the turians." Wrex grumbled.

On the way to Flux an anti-alien Terra Firma Party member stopped her asking for her support. Was he kidding? Did he not see who he was traveling with? A turian? A krogan? She told him he was entitled to his opinion, but she believed we needed to work peacefully with other races. She made her goodbyes and left before she could say something rude.

She made her way up the stairs to Flux and another idiot stops her wanting her to purchase mental stims for him so he could negotiate against the salarians rather than leaving the matter to his alien-appeasing assistant. Some days she just wanted to shoot everyone she saw. She went over to the med-clinic and purchased a depressant. That damn thing must kick in fast, for he knew what she did nearly immediately. He called her a bastard and alien loving scum…but she'd been called worse.

Wrex and Garrus laughed over her deviousness. "Remind me to stay on your good side, Shepard." Garrus told her.

As they walked into Flux, she spotted David sitting a one of the tables.

"I'm glad you came, child. I heard what happened." Anderson said regretfully.

"They pulled me off the mission. Just like when they forced you to give up the Normandy." She admitted.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to get word to you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked." Anderson replied. "I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. You have to stop Saren from using the Conduit."

"There's only one ship that can get me into the Terminus Systems undetected, and she's grounded." Shepard pointed out.

"Citadel control's locked out all the Normandy's systems. But if we override the Ambassador's orders we can get them to bring the Normandy back on-line. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone." Anderson explained.

"No, David. That doesn't work. If we steal the Normandy, you're the one left holding the bag." She said.

"And if Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it is over. The Reapers will destroy us." He reminded her. "You're the only one who can stop him, child. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you on the Normandy and off this station."

"Stealing the Normandy is mutiny. I won't force my crew to go along with it."

"You wouldn't have to force us, Shepard. We're behind you every step of the way…we always have been." Garrus told her. And I always will be…

"I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center. You'll have a few minutes before anyone realizes what's happened." Anderson said.

"That's a restricted area patrolled by armed guards." Garrus pointed out.

"No, David. You'll get yourself killed. There must be another way." She said concerned.

Anderson thought for a moment. "Ambassador Udina issued the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, maybe I can override it." He said.

"The Ambassador won't forgive this, Captain. You'll be charged with treason, a capital offence." Garrus pointed out the obvious flaw.

"We don't have a lot of options here." Anderson said in exasperation.

"I'm leaning towards Udina…but it's your call, David." She told him.

"I'll break into the Ambassador's office. He made this personal."

Shepard walked around the table and gave David a hug. "You better keep yourself safe, dad. I love you and couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

"I love you too, child. And what you are about to do is far more dangerous than anything I will do. Stay safe and make me proud." Anderson told her as he hugged her back.

"Don't I always, dad?" She asked with a wink.

"Make me proud? Absolutely. Stay safe? Probably not." He said giving her a knowing look.

"I'll come back in one piece. I promise." She said giving him a blinding smile.

David sat stunned for a moment. Then shook his head. "You ready to get the hell off this station?"

"I was born ready." She said.

"I'll take care of the lockdown. You get down to the Normandy and tell Joker to stand by." Anderson instructed her.

They practically flew to the Normandy. The guard was no longer there. That was a good start. She ran to the cockpit and stood waiting for the red lock-down light to flash green. Time seemed to trickle by. She and Joker looked at each other worried. What if something had happened to David? Neither one gave voice to their concerns. Fearing that to speak it would ensure it. Finally, the light turned green and they both gave a sigh of relief.

"Let's go. Get us the hell out of here, Joker. Now!"

"Already gone, Commander." He said with a smile.


End file.
